Cambridge Gay Coalition Mobilizes

Local gay and lesbian activists have begun mobilizing a network of political support in an attempt to influence municipal election this fall.

About 70 people gathered at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church last night for the organizational meeting of the Cambridge Lesbian and Gay Alliance (CLAGA), where they heard candidates for both the Cambridge city council and the school committee address issues of discrimination.

CLAGA is the first group in Cambridge that is "both a political group and a way to build up the gay and lesbian community." Jonathan Handel '82, the group's coordinator, said last night.

In addition to organizing political discussions, the group plans to hold quarterly meetings, publish a newsletter and host house parties. Handel said, explaining that CLAGA is modelled on a similar group in Boston.

Any Cambridge resident who is registered to vote and pays a $5 membership fee is eligible to join.

Not the First

CLAGA is not the first gay and lesbian political group in the city. A Cambridge Gay Political Caucus was organized in 1976 to "make it clear to people that there was a difference among candidates and the way they deal with our issues," said Hugh Russell '64, a member of the CLAGA steering committee and former leader of the Caucus.

But the Caucus was absorbed by CLAGA this summer, Russell added, because organizers thought it was possible to appeal to a broader group of people.

"The Cambridge gay community is just not well organized, and this group is trying to do something about it," Russell said.

CLAGA spokesman Lesley Phillips said the group is the first of its kind in Cambridge, and that it is part of "a nationwide grassroots organizing of gay and lesbian people." There are now more than 130 political and civic gay groups in every state, she added.

Nine city council candidates and eight school committee hopefuls seeking CLAGA endorsement attended the meeting last night, addressing issues ranging from police harassment to a gay/lesbian liaison for the city.

Seventeen out of the 32 candidates showed up at the meeting, including incumbent city councilors Francis H. Duehay '55, Saundra Graham, David E. Sullivan, David A. Wylie, all endorsed by the liberal Cambridge Civic Association (CCA), and Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci. Challengers present included Richard Branson, Francis Budryk, William L. Durette Jr. '85 and Alice Wolf, another CCA-endorsed candidate.

Each candidate was given four minutes to make a general statement, and then spent six minutes fielding questions from the floor.

A summary of their responses to an eight-point questionnaire filled out before the meeting was also distributed.

Endorsement

Actual endorsements will not be made until next week, when all CLAGA members who were present at last night's meeting will vote on which candidates to support. Members who did not attend the first meeting will be able to discuss the candidates, but not vote on the endorsees.

"We want people to have some idea of what each candidate stands for before they vote," Phillips explained.

Under Cambridge's Hare Proportional System of voting, a candidate needs about 10,000 votes to be elected, and Russell predicted that out of the 7000 members of the local gay community, about 2000 would actually be at the polls on Election Day.

Clout

He added that in the past, city councilors have won elections by margins of as few as seven voters. "We will be a factor, although I don't know how great because we're a new group," he said.

"We got a good turnout tonight," Russell continued. "I've never seen this many of us together other than for dancing purposes."

And Phillips voiced optimism about the group's potential. "We're going to make an impact with the lesbian and gay vote in this town," she said.