HIGH GEAR/DECEMBER 1977

Page 5

SHERRILL

ON GAY POLITICS

By Terrence McCormick

Ken Sherrill, Ph.D., a 34-yearold political science professor at Hunter College, recently became the first openly gay candidate elected in New York City. Sherrill will represent the 69th Assembly District Part A, which covers from 79th Street to 98th Street between Central Park West and Amsterdam Avenue on the New York City Democratic Committee. He helped organize the Gay Independent Democrats, the Gay Academic Union in New York City and has lobbied for rights at both city and state levels.

His new book, "Power, Policy, and Participation," shortly to be published by Harper-Row, instructs citizens how to use politics to achieve social change.

The following interview took place in New York City recently not too far away from Ken's West 81st Street brownstone home.

HG: You ran openly as a gay here in New York. Harvey Milk openly campaigned for San Francisco supervisor as a gay. Both of you won. Do you think this will encourage more gays to consider political office?

run

SHERRILL: I hope so. If we pick our races carefully, where we have a good chance to win, run in areas where gays have clustered, if we adequately finance and staff them, we can win.

HG: Is your race a case in point?

SHERRILL: Yes, I think so. Manhattan has a higher percentage of gays than most U.S. cities. We conservatively estimate the island's gay population at 15%. The upper west side where I ran is probably 25% gay.

HG: That's still a significant minority. Was the gay issue raised?

SHERRILL: My district is a very liberal one. Both of my opponents who are straight had the good political judgment not to raise the issue. I feel it would have helped me if they had. I feel we won because we had a better organized effort. We had more volunteers, rang more doorbells, gave out more campaign literature.

HG: New York gays should be pleased with the recent elections.

SHERRILL: Of course. Many know the efforts Ed Koch has made on behalf of gays when he was in Congress. New Yorkers know Ed as decent and a capable public official. They didn't seem to be influenced significantly by the scandalous and scurrilous rumors regarding his possible homosexuality that were whispered throughout the campaign and which surfaced shortly before election. A commission investigating that matter found the rumors baseless. It is encouraging to know that voters

are becoming more politically sophisticated. It augurs well for gays who will attempt elective office. One's sexual preference should not be an issue in a political campaign.

Carol Bellany who will be our city council president has been supportive of the gay rights issue. We are pleased with her election.

HG: Were there any major defeats here in New York?

The saddest disappointment was the defeat of Gary Deane. Gary had the endorsement of the New York Times, The AFLCIO, and United Federation of Teachers. I personally feel that if more of the well-to-do gays that live in this city had financially supported his candidacy, Gary would have won Councillor-atLarge to the New York City Council. As such, he would represent 2 1/2 million people. That's significant!!!

HG: Gays are becoming more visible. Can we expect a backlash especially if we are attempting to exert some pressure on the political process?

SHERRILL: There is some evidence that a backlash is a already occurring. When minority becomes more visible, more vocal, there tends to be a backlash it's history. We saw it recently in the black movement. We're seeing it in the women's movement. And some of the backlash comes from ones you would expect to be associated with the black, or the women's or the gay movement. It can be as blatant as Phyllis Schafly with the women's movement or as subtle as the rich gay who finances a straight candidate when a gay candidate at least as qualified is also running. Gary Deane's contest is a case with which I have personal knowledge in that regard. Money does help to win elections. But the movement will continue backlash or not.

HG: Do you foresee any violence in connection with the struggle?

SHERRILL: It's a distinct possibility. And I say, let it come. Historically, it's not uncommon to see violence erupt as minority attempts to wrest control of their rights.

I sense a lot of anger in gays, especially younger ones. They are less tolerant of the fact that gays suffer discrimination, and they have less to lose than many of us who are older, established in respectable jobs, earning a comfortable living. Their militancy has far fewer consequences for them.

HG: What can gays do to assist in the movement?

ex-

SHERRILL: Get involved. It can be as simple as writing to your congressman and pressing your views. We were at a fund raising for Bob Wagner before the election. George McGovern, the '72 Presidential can-

didate was there. He advised us to lobby our elected officials in order to effect the legislative changes which are necessary. He said he opposed the Vietnam war five years before he brought it to a Senate vote. Had he done so at the time, he would have had one or two other supporters. During the next five years he worked to persuade other senators to his point of view. Five years later he almost got majority support when it was voted on in the Senate. It is unlikely for example that a bill like HR 2998 will pass the Congress in the near future without a great deal of effort at the local and state level. Gays can get involved in gay rights organizations, support them with their time, their money. We can and must organize gay money, making contributions where they are deserved, making life difficult for people who make life difficult for us. We can hit candidates with questions regarding gay rights. It's going to take a lot of money and people to reverse the perceptions that much of straight society has toward us.

And of course, gays can register and vote. During my campaign we set up registration booths outside gay bars. During the campaign we registered over 1000 people in my district. I don't know what percentage were gay of those we registered but these 1000 votes may have guaranteed me victory.

HG: I know that you are affiliated with the Gay Independent Democrats. Do you see any value in non-partisan political coalitions which would review the position of candidates seeking elective office with respect to gay rights and make recommendations?

SHERRILL: I see value in both the partisan and non-partisan organizations. Many elections are won or lost by the votes of a small percentage of the actual voters and an even smaller per-

centage of the eligible voters. Gay registration and participation in the election process could have important differences for us. Your recent primary and general election are cases in point. I've followed your Mayor Perk's stand on pornography in general and gay rights in particular. Gays very well may have driven him from office.

HG: The issue of the boycott has divided gays as some of us attempt to deal with The Florida Citrus Commission and the orange growers. How do you stand on the boycott?

SHERRILL: I personally support the boycott but I feel that the conditions of migrant laborers in Florida are such that it is justifiable to boycott Florida cit-rus products on those grounds alone. There is simply no concern for human rights there. The Governor of Florida appoints the Citrus Commission. It's very close to being a creature of the state. It not only promotes the sale of citrus products, it also

regulates the conditions under which citrus products are grown and marketed. And there is a trail that they leave of reprehensible behavior, the absence of schools, sanitary conditions, the absence of adequate medical facilities.

HG: Thank you, Ken, for granting us this interview. We wish you much success in your efforts here in New York.

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