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2008
7 DAYS7 NIGHTS
GOP Gay’s “Uphill” Fight
John Chromczak aims for Lower Manhattan-Brooklyn state Senate seat
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Politics
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
I
n a state Senate district that runs from the Lower East Side down to Battery Park and includes portionsof Williamsburg, BrooklynHeights, Cobble Hill, and Car-roll Gardens as well, Republi-can John Chromczak knowshe’s got a tough challenge onhis hands. The area’s party registrations overwhelm-ingly favor Democrats, andhis opponent is a well-fundedinsurgent, Daniel Squad-ron, who toppled the 30-year incumbent, Martin Connor,after a high-profile primary fight in September.Still, Chromczak, a 38-year-old out gay medical technolo-gist who lives in Lower Man-hattan, said he believes that his chances improve “the morepeople I get in touch with.” Thecandidate said that in recent months he’s knocked on anastounding 10,000 doors inthe 25th Senate District. Yet, in a year when theLGBT community is focusedon Senate races statewide,Chromczak conceded, whenasked about the reaction of thegay community to his candi-dacy, “I don’t think they know what to do with me, to be hon-est.” He said he has never spo-ken to the Empire State Pride Agenda, New York’s LGBT lobby, though he had put out what he termed “feelers” to thegroup.“They’re so entrenched inthe Democratic Party,” Chrom-czak said by way of shruggingoff the lack of dialogue withESPA.For its part, ESPA, on Octo- ber 15, announced its endorse-ment of Squadron, after hav-ing sat out his primary fight with incumbent Connor. Thegroup said Chromczak did not fill out its candidate question-naire and that his website andliterature made no mention of LGBT issues. An ESPA endorsement of the Republican was probably not in the cards in any event. After years of carefully steer-ing a bipartisan course, whichmost prominently includedendorsement of Governor George Pataki in 2002, thegroup made clear its view that continued Republican leader-ship of the Senate made prog-ress on key agenda items suchas marriage equality and gen-der rights legislation, already approved by the Assembly andsupported by Governor DavidPaterson, impossible. The Democrats need just two seats to take control of theSenate. Holding the seat Con-nor has held in Democratichands is integral to that effort,and Squadron is an outspokenLGBT rights supporter, hav-ing told Gay City News thissummer that marriage equal-ity “is a drum I plan to beat asaggressively as anybody.”Chromczak, however, arguesthat as a gay Republican he isthe one better able to win over converts on marriage equal-ity. In the 62-seat Senate, six Democrats have evidencedopposition to gay marriage, soeven if the party captures thechamber there will be politick-ing left to do on the issue. If minority Republican votes areneeded, he believes he would be an effective messenger. What concerns the Pride Agenda and other marriageadvocates, though, is that theloss of an existing Democraticseat could keep the Senate inRepublican hands. The GOPleadership has been grudgingover the years in allowing voteson gay rights issues and, at a Log Cabin Republican recep-tion in Manhattan last month,Dean Skelos of Long Island,the new majority leader, sig-naled that he has no inten-tion of changing course fromhis predecessor, Joe Bruno,in blocking marriage equality from going to the floor.Pressed on a GOP-majority scenario, Chromczak insisted,rather boldly for a prospectivefreshman senator, “I am basi-cally going to tell them that it’s a priority for me, it’s a pri-ority for people in my district.It’s going to have to get to thefloor of the Senate and if that means we’re going to have tohold out on other issues to get that legislation to the floor it’ssomething that I’m going tohave to do.” Asked whether that warningcould have an impact, he notedthat senators elect a majority leader in January and said, “Idon’t think anyone should takeanything how I should vote for granted.” Does that mean hemight vote to make the cur-rent minority leader, QueensDemocratic Senator MalcolmSmith, the new majority lead-er? Chromczak responded,“What I’m saying is I’m going to vote for the person who’s goingto have the same priorities I doas a legislator.”But Chromczak seems toshare many of the priorities of the current Republican major-ity, and the state party hasgiven him roughly $20,000out of the estimated $60,000he will spend on his race. At a candidate forum last week at the LGBT Community Center,moderated by this reporter,he followed a presentation by Chelsea Democratic Assem- blyman Dick Gottfried, and inpointed response said, “I just don’t think we can keep taxingourselves out of every crisis.”Careful in an interview this week to emphasize that hedoes not advocate “draconian,across-the-board spendingcuts,” he said that “absolute-ly” state expenditures need to be trimmed, citing specifically New York’s massive Medicaid budget. He did concede, how-ever, that the wealthiest New Yorkers might need to pay a higher share of total taxes,a point Gottfried had talkedabout at the Center forum but one that Chromczak faultedDemocrats for not advancingmore aggressively.One issue on which Chrom-czak is likely out of step withmany in the LGBT commu-nity is his pro-life posture; infact, West Village Democratic Assemblywoman DeborahGlick, an out lesbian whoappeared after him at theforum last week, spent muchof her time criticizing his posi-tion. Specifically, he believesthat New York State law should be amended to require paren-tal approval of abortion for minors, except in exceptionalcircumstances, and greater
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THU.OCT.16
POLITICSSexy People Vote!
In the final of three candidatenights, the LGBT Community Centerand Gay Men’s Health Crisis host anevening of Manhattan congressionalcandidates, moderated by MarcusMabry of the New York Times.
208 W.13th St., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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BOOKS
Kathleen Warnock hosts anotherevening of “Drunken! Careening! Writ-ers!,” tonight featuring Brooklyn poetand writer Cheryl Burke, Ed Hamilton,author of “Legends of the ChelseaHotel,” Nita Noveno, founder of theSunday Salon series, and vittoria repet-to, whose first poetry book is “Not JustA Personal Ad.”
KGB Bar, 85 E. FourthSt., btwn. Bowery & Second Ave., 7p.m.
Free.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
RELATIONSHIPSMaking Love
Want connection? Frustrated fromtrying everything you know and get-ting no results? Angelo Pezzote, a gaypsychotherapist, columnist, and author(“Straight Acting: Gay Men, Masculin-ity, and Finding True Love”), talks aboutreleasing roadblocks to intimacy andmanifesting love. Dress comfortablyand bring a blanket and pillow, if youcan.
LGBT Community Center, 208 W. 13th St., room 410, 8-10 p.m.
Free.For more information, visit askangelo.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARETThe Clown Dump
Vermillion Lies has charmed audi-ences the world over with their uniquebrand of beauty, silliness, and creativ-ity. With songs ranging from lyricalfolk ballads to raucous circus marches,real Life sisters, Zoe and Kim Boek-binder “Vermillion,” have spent theirlives honing their craft at clown bootcamp and the local dump, where theyfound their favorite instruments like toypiano, accordion, typewriter, and BBQgrill.
The Zipper Factory, 336 W. 37thSt., 10 p.m.
Tickets are $20 at thezip-perfactory.com.
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Star Dust
Klea Blackhurst took New York bystorm with her acclaimed tribute toEthel Merman, “Everything the TrafficWill Allow.” Billy Stritch is an award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist,and jazz pianist. The two collaborateon a review based on the music of
John Chromczak, a gay Republican,acknowledges he is the clear underdog inhis Manhattan-Brooklyn race for the stateSenate.
CHROMCZAK
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CatholicBishopEndorsesObama
Archbishop John Onaiyekanof Nigeria said he would votefor Obama for president if hecould, despite the Democrat’spro-choice stance. He told theNational Catholic Reporter, “Ifmy choice is between a personwho makes room for abortion,but who is really pro-life interms of justice in the world,peace in the world, I will preferhim to somebody who doesn’tsupport abortion but who isdriving millions of people in theworld to death.”Onaiyekan is “widely seen asthe spokesperson for Catholicismin Africa,” the newspaper said.
CatholicBishop FiresGay Priest
Father Geoffrey Farrow,the Fresno Catholic priest whocame out of the closet andagainst California’s anti-gaymarriage amendment, has beendismissed as pastor of the St.Paul Newman Center by BishopJohn Steinbock, who wrote,“It is tragic that Proposition8 opponents have convincedsome well-intentioned peoplethat Proposition 8, as a legiti-mate initiative to define theinstitution of marriage, is some-how a condemnation of peopleof same-sex orientation.”
Foster CareCrosscurrentsin Arkansas
The Arkansas Departmentof Social Services has ruledthat unmarried gay and straightcouples can be foster parents,ending a ban imposed in 2005.Governor Mike Beebe backs thechange, citing the shortage offoster homes in the state.Voters go to the polls onNovember 4 to decide whetherto prohibit couples who areunmarried from adopting chil-dren or being foster parents. Itis being fought by arkansasfam-iliesfirst.org and the Foster CareAlumni of America.
Five Years forKilling PhillyTranswoman
Terron Oates, 20, was sen-tenced to five-to-ten years forthe killing of Alexis King in 2006.
NEWS BRIEFS
By ANDY HUMM
BRIEFS
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