www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com ⚫ October 23, 2009

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Teacher and reporter seeks Canton School Board seat

by Anthony Glassman

Canton-Eric Resnick, a former teacher and current staff reporter for the Gay People's Chronicle, is vying to be an at-large member of the Canton School Board.

In June 2008, Resnick was one of several candidates seeking appointment to fill a school board vacancy.

During that process, he was asked by a board member if he would run for a seat if he were not appointed.

"I might," he replied.

Within months, as he attended more school board meetings, "I might" became "I will," Resnick says.

He has now completed the Ohio School Boards Association board member training, giving him a greater knowledge of the mechanics of running the school district.

He is facing the incumbent, Ron Duff, and William Smith in the November 3 election. Early voting has already begun.

Besides his work at the Chronicle,

Resnick testified in front of both the Ohio House and Senate's education committees for anti-bullying laws that include LGBT students.

In his responses to a questionnaire from the Parents and Professionals Commission of Ohio, a non-partisan group that issues a guide to candidates' positions, Resnick expressed most fully his pro-gay beliefs, as well as his opposition to abstinence-only education and including "intelligent design" in science classes.

He received the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's Pathfinder Award in 2005.

But his primary focus is on the economics of the school district, which faces up to a $1 million shortfall in a potential state budget correction.

"That's roughly an elementary building," he wrote on another questionnaire. In a school district with a 28% poverty rate like Canton's, Resnick believes the

A dozen out candidates are seeking Ohio offices

More Ohio openly gay and lesbian candidates are seeking office this November than ever before in a single election. The twelve office-seekers are in all parts of the state, and include four incumbents.

All are running for local offices. In geographic order from three Cleveland.suburbs to southwest Ohio, they are:

Mark Tumeo, Cleveland Heights City Council, incumbent

Nickie Antonio, Lakewood City Council, incumbent

Jay Smith, Medina City Council Sandra Kurt, Akron City Council Ward 8 Jerry Larson, Akron Municipal Court judge, incumbent; appointed by governor to fill a vacancy

Eric Resnick, Canton City School Board Sophia Rodriguez, Celina City Council

President (in Mercer County, near the Indiana border)

Carol Fey, Bexley City School Board (a Columbus suburb)

Marci McCaulay, Thorn Township trustee

(in Perry County, east of Columbus) Joe Lacey Dayton City School Board, incumbent

Kyle Peavley, Trenton City Council (in Butler County, between Cincinnati and Dayton)

Kevin Johnson, Portsmouth City Council Ward 1 (on the Ohio River, near the southern tip of the state)

newsbriefs

Senator asks brass how they would end 'don't ask'

Washington, D.C.-Sen. Mark Udall said October 16 he wants U.S. military chiefs to tell Congress in the next 30 days how they would handle a repeal of the 'don't ask, don't tell' law that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

The Colorado Democrat released a letter to President Barack Obama applauding Obama's recent restatement of his intention to end "don't ask, don't tell." Udall said he wants to champion that effort in the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is a member.

"We need all qualified men and women, many with mission-critical skills, to fight and win America's wars. And the public is ready for this and is with us," Udall wrote.

The letter asks Obama to direct Defense Secretary Robert Gates and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen to say when they think the repeal should happen and how a nondiscrimination policy should be implemented.

The letter notes Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the Armed Services committee chairman, has said it's necessary that senior military leaders be consulted and Congress have their buy-in on a plan to repeal the law.

Gately died of natural causes

Madrid Openly gay Irish boy-band star Stephen Gately, whose body was found in a house on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca, died of natural causes, according to autopsy results released October 13.

A post-mortem showed Gately, 33, died as a result of a pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, the Balearic Islands Superior Justice Tribunal said in a statement.

"The signer of the British group Boyzone died from natural causes, owing to an 'acute pulmonary edema'," the court statement said.

"The autopsy carried out this morning showed there were no signs of violence to the body," it said, adding that Gately's remains could now be flown home.

Gately was found dead on October 10-in a house near Port d'Andratx on the western tip of Mallorca. The singer had gone to Mallorca with his partner Andrew Cowles. The two were wed in a civil union in 2006.

Spanish news reports said the two had. been out drinking and that the singer had later choked on his own vomit.

The four other members of the band flew to Mallorca following news of the death.

Boyzone was one of the biggest acts to come out of Ireland in the 1990s. The group was a major hitmaker in Britain and Ireland in the 1990s and announced a comeback tour at the end of last year.

Gately also released several solo singles and appeared in stage musicals. He made headlines when he announced he was gay a decade ago.

Governor signs marriage recognition

Sacramento, Calif.-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill recognizing same-sex marriages sanctioned in other states during the nearly five months such unions were legal in California.

Schwarzenegger says the action is consistent with a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the marriages of same-sex couples who tied the knot in California before voters approved the Proposition 8 marriage ban amendment last November.

The bill signed by the governor October 11 also says gay and lesbian couples who were married in other states after Proposition 8 passed have the same rights and benefits that California grants domestic partners.

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only way to make sure of the city's economic future is to ensure the proper education of its students. This includes paying special attention to homeless or transient

Eric Resnick

3%

The current school board, he argues, is banking on revenue from video slot machines at racetracks, a possibility that won't be decided until the 2010 election.

CHRISTINE HAHN

students, those with nutritional and clothing needs, and those who just need a little extra help to make it through.

He also argues against cutting money for athletics and extracurricular activities, adding that these are the very things that, for some students, mean the difference between graduating and dropping out.

Resnick wants to put a school levy before voters, believing that they will care enough about the future of their children to pass it.

"If you believe that our students deserve hope, and that our community needs the benefits and life quality that good schools produce, this course of action is the only moral choice," he argues.

Resnick tells a story about how voters identify him with the levy idea, and how being gay has become a non-issue for candidates since he ran for Congress in 1996.

"Saturday night I was at a fundraiser at St. Mary's Catholic Church, an old inner-city parish south of downtown Canton. I introduced myself to a woman, late 70s, early 80s, white, platinum hair."

"When she learned who I was, she said, 'You're the levy guy! I already voted for you [absentee].'"

The candidate says that a similar voter would have come up to him in 1996 and said, "You're the gay guy." News coverage also reflected this.

"Every piece written about me [in 1996] no matter what it was, had 'gay' in the lead. Somewhere along the line, that novelty of gay candidates wore off, and that is the news."

He says that he is prepared to move the Canton City Schools from being a good district to a model one.

"I'm running because everyone the Canton City Schools touches has high expectations and the right to expect that their Board of Education will work hard to meet them. I'm running because I am ready to do that," he says.

CLEVELAND STONEWALL DEMOCRATS

2009 Candidate Endorsements

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

Cleveland City Council Ward 3: Joe Cimperman Ward 6: Mamie Mitchell Ward 8: Jeffrey Johnson Ward 11: Michael D. Polensek Ward 12: Anthony Brancatelli Ward 13: Kevin Kelley Ward 14: Brian Cummins Ward 15: Matt Zone

Ward 16: Jay Westbrook Ward 17: Dona Brady Ward 18: Martin J. Sweeney

Lakewood City Council At-Large:

Nickie J. Antonio Monique Smith

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton

East Cleveland City Council At-Large: Joy Jordan

Nathaniel Martin

Shaker Heights City Council Lynn Ruffner

Rob Zimmerman

University Heights City

Council At-Large: Phillip Robinson

Cleveland Heights City Council

Bonnie Caplan

Ed Kelley

Cheryl Stephens

Mark Tumeo

REMEMBER TO VOTE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd!!! For more information on how to get involved in the campaigns of these candidates email strategy@clevelandstonewalldemocrats.org and/or attend the next meeting of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats at 7:00 PM at the LGBT Center.

For more information visit our website www.clevelandstonewalldemocrats.org