➤ REPUBLICAN DIAZ, from p.16
gay men and lesbians serve
openly in the military, according to
a 1993 Newsday piece.
For Diaz, it means supporting
Republican Rob Astorino for governor
in 2014, citing the former
Westchester County Executive’s
opposition to women’s reproductive
rights. Astorino also expressed his
opposition to same-sex marriage,
which his incumbent Democratic
opponent, Andrew Cuomo, had
steered to enactment three years
before.
For Diaz, it means complaining
that the City Council is controlled
by the LGBTQ community and
subsequently asking this reporter
last year why he would have to
support any LGBTQ rights initiatives
as a councilmember.
To be sure, there are other Democrats
on the Council who are also
➤ JABARI BRISPORT, from p.16
on hand compared to $27,503 for
Salmon and $44,539 for Wright,
who transferred $43,075 from her
Assembly campaign account to her
State Senate campaign in January.
“I’m so proud of this campaign,”
Brisport wrote in a May 26 tweet.
“Not long ago, it would’ve been unimaginable
for a socialist teacher to
be a serious candidate. Now, we’re
leading this race. We’ve proven that
a people-backed candidate is more
powerful than special interests or
wealthy allies. Let’s win this.”
While Wright has been endorsed
by Montgomery, Salmon has secured
the backing of the Lambda
Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
(LID), the Stonewall Democratic
Club of New York City, the Jim
Owles Liberal Democratic Club,
and Equality New York, a statewide
LGBTQ coalition with a political
action committee. He also has the
support of out gay Brooklyn Councilmember
Carlos Menchaca.
Brisport’s endorsements include
the Working Families Party, the
Democratic Socialists of America,
State Senator Julia Salazar, and
out lesbian former gubernatorial
candidate Cynthia Nixon.
While the gay candidate has
built a formidable base of support
and the queer political clubs have
welcomed Salmon with open arms,
out of step with the prevailing political
mood there. Chaim Deutsch
of Brooklyn, who is challenging incumbent
US Representative Yvette
Clarke, shockingly voted against
banning conversion therapy in
2017 and has opposed other queer
rights initiatives. And Fernando
Cabrera, like Diaz from the Bronx,
traveled to Uganda in 2014 and defended
that nation’s leaders in the
immediate aftermath of their passing
a draconian criminalization
bill targeting the gay and lesbian
community.
But with the longevity of his political
career, dating back to the
1990s, and the frequency with
which his infl ammatory outbursts
occur, Diaz is in something of a
class by himself.
Bronx United Political Action
Committee, which formed with the
purpose of opposing Diaz’s candidacy
for Congress, is highlighting
Wright is poised to get snubbed
by the community in the district,
which includes portions of Fort
Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook,
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park,
Gowanus, and Park Slope. She
faced hostility from queer Brooklynites
at a February LID endorsement
meeting when confronted
over her refusal to support full sex
work decriminalization, and she
proceeded to blow off Stonewall
entirely when it was time for that
club to endorse.
Brisport has built an intimidating
war chest while running a
campaign fi nance operation that
does not include corporate cash
or contributions from real estate
developers, landlords, charter
schools, lobbyists, or the fossil fuel
industry. It is his second time running
for offi ce after he drew more
than 9,300 votes as a Green Party
candidate in an unsuccessful bid
to unseat incumbent City Councilmember
Laurie Cumbo in 2017.
Brisport, who has ties to Congressmember
Aexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, sat down with Gay City
News in February to discuss his
campaign platform aimed at bolstering
public schools, tackling
gentrifi cation and homelessness,
supporting single-payer healthcare,
and fully decriminalizing sex
work, along with other key progressive
positions.
But now, in the midst of a panletting
many of those examples of the
77-year-old’s decades-long history
of standing up for GOP candidates
at a time when he is seeking to represent
the most Democratic district
in America.
“Whether it’s supporting and defending
Donald Trump, proudly parading
Ted Cruz around the Bronx,
endorsing Rudy Giuliani, or praising
Sarah Palin, Ruben Diaz, Sr.,
has spent his entire career backing
Republicans who want to rollback
healthcare, end a woman’s
right to choose, oppose marriage
equality, and attack immigrants,”
Bronx United said in a written
statement to Gay City News. “Diaz
Sr. would be Donald Trump and
Mike Pence’s favorite New York City
politician and if he gets to Washington
would work hand in hand
with them to pass their anti-Bronx
conservative agenda.”
Out gay Councilmember Ritchie
Torres, a leading contender in the
race for the 15th district and a top
rival of Diaz, has also aimed to
paint his opponent as a “Trump
Republican” who would carry the
GOP’s water should he be elevated
to Capitol Hill. That messaging is
clearly an election season strategy
to convince voters that Torres’
better-known opponent is only a
Democrat in name but in fact is a
Republican, but there is also ample
truth to it: After all, Diaz hasn’t
just acted like a Republican — he
previously ran as both a Republican
and a Democrat for State Senate
in 2008, according to the New
York Sun.
So, then, what does it mean to
be a Democrat in New York City?
For Diaz, aiming to represent the
most Democratic district in America,
the answer is simple: It means
standing with the Grand Old Party
when it matters the most.
demic, Brisport has escalated his
advocacy for much-needed social
programs while focusing his efforts
on outlining his plan to address
the crisis. He has called for the
protection of Medicaid, the transfer
of private hospitals to public
ownership, the passage of the New
York Health Act, and the canceling
of rent and debt payments.
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