How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria?

BY: A.J. BOCKELMAN - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROMO

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

    No, this is not a reprise of The Sound of Music. This is the story of a good elected official gone bad.

    Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal is running for state Senate in the 14th district, arguably one of the most available progressive seats in the Senate representing a good part of University City and other parts of North County. She is joined by colleagues Rep. Don Calloway, Rep. Ted Hoskins and former Rep. Esther Haywood in running for the seat alongside former University City Mayor Joe Adams.

    On Tuesday, April 6th Maria was also elected to another seat, the University City School Board.  PROMO, the statewide advocacy organization for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community previously endorsed her election to the Missouri House. However, her actions during this campaign call in to question her commitment to the LGBT community. 

Background

    In addition to the school board race this past week, University City also elected a new mayor. Shelley Welsch was elected by a margin of only 95 votes over Terry Crow, a gay man who currently serves on the City Council. The school board race also included a gay man, Tom Peters who currently serves on the school board and is Terry’s partner. Tom and Terry have been extremely active public servants, proud University City community members and the parents of two children enrolled University City public school district.

    During Maria’s campaign for school board, Maria took Terry Crow to task via Twitter for not disclosing in his campaign literature that he is a gay man running for office. Her Twitter statements included:

·    Why is Terry Crow hiding the fact that he's gay in his literature? I can't hide my race or my "thickness". Be proud. I am! 10:43 PM Mar 19th via mobile web

·    If you can't be honest in your literature, how can I trust you'll be honest with me as a voter, constituent? 11:00 PM Mar 19th via mobile web

·    I am praying that Shelley Welsch wins. I want her to be my mayor. She's not hiding anything about herself. 11:18 PM Mar 19th via mobile web

These Tweets Raise Several Issues

    For the record, the Victory Fund, an organization dedicated to helping out LGBT candidates running for office, consistently trains candidates that, while they should never deny they identify as lesbian or gay, they should focus on the issues relevant to voter needs. In a similar fashion, should a woman have to constantly identify herself as a woman—or should an African American man have to consistently identify himself as African American in his literature? Terry never made any effort to conceal his identity as a gay man. There were numerous profiles of Terry which fully identified him and his partner Tom Peters (who was re-elected to the School Board along with Maria) as a couple. When her Tweets ask a very public, very out gay man why he is “hiding” his gay identity, Maria is engaging in the oldest form of political chicanery: asking the baseless, dishonest, unanswerable question, the “Have you stopped beating your wife?” question, designed to direct attention away from oneself.

    So what does Rep. Chappelle-Nadal have to hide? What sleight of hand is she trying to pull?  Perhaps the fact that Rep. Chappelle-Nadal has painted herself as a friend and ally to the gay community when her recent actions and statements have called this into serious question. As I mentioned previously, PROMO PAC, the endorsement arm of PROMO, back her in her past two House races. But her Tweets are reminiscent of the  radio spots she ran in 2008 on behalf of the Republican candidate for Attorney General, Mike Gibbons (who had a strong anti-gay voting record), simply because she had a vendetta against the Democratic nominee, Chris Koster.

    University City has a long, rich history of supporting and electing a diverse population of candidates. Joe Adams was the city's first African-American Mayor, and Janet Majerus was the first woman to be elected Mayor. University City was the home of Harriett Woods, the first woman elected statewide and the first woman Lt. Governor. Harriett Woods actively ran her campaign promoting the fact she would be the first woman running statewide and raised money for EMILY’s List, which helps women run for office in a fashion similar to what the Victory Fund does for LGBT candidates.

    Sadly, Rep. Chappelle-Nadal no longer fits into this rich, progressive tradition. Her actions represent the types of attacks the LGBT community faces on a regular basis. Though she says "Be proud," her style betrays an intention to stigmatize, marginalize, and discredit who we are based simply on sexual orientation or gender identity - especially when we are out and vocal. With this in mind, PROMO, the statewide LGBT advocacy organization will no longer accept Rep. Chappelle-Nadal’s claims to be a supporter of the LGBT community. It's too bad. Our community can use all the allies it can get, and there may have been a time when Rep. Chappelle-Nadal truly fought for justice. No more. We expect our elected allies to be with us always, not just when it is politically expedient.

    So how do you solve a problem like Maria? Keep speaking truth to power, to friends and to your fellow voter and the problem will take care of itself.