Ross Levi as Grand Marshall of Hudson Pride

On Saturday our own Ross Levi served as the Grand Marshall for the Hudson Pride Parade. Check out this great article in local newspaper The Daily Mail: “To me, pride is more than a party — it needs to be a commitment.” Read more >

Photo: David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers

Have a Happy New Year -- You earned it

Reflecting on this past year -- my first as executive director -- I'm inspired by the strength shown by our community. We accomplished a lot in a very challenging year, but only because we had our community -- and that means you -- on our side. You helped us achieve things people said were impossible.

Thanks to you, we saw the passage of the landmark Dignity for All Students Act, during a heartbreaking time when it became all too clear that the needs of LGBT youth in public schools were not being met. Because of your advocacy, Governor Paterson's executive order preventing discrimination based on gender identity and expression in the state's workforce brought New York's transgender community one step closer to full civil rights. We secured resources from our state government for LGBT health and human services all across the state. Finally, our community's voice rang out loud and clear in the recent elections showing both incoming and incumbent politicians that there's a new political calculus: you can't be seen as anti-LGBT and achieve victory in statewide elected office here in New York.

All this happened because of you. You volunteered, you engaged your legislators, you voted and you advocated for our rights. Though there were some disappointments this year, too, our community stuck together and stood by us. You are the reason we can promise to keep doing this work until we win.

And with you by our side as we ring in the New Year, we will continue our path of progress. In his inaugural address earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke of the need for New York's citizens to be reengaged in their government. We at the Pride Agenda, and indeed the LGBT community, are already ahead of the curve in this regard; connecting people who believe in equality and justice to government has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of our work.

Welcome, 2011. Today, a new state government comes into office in Albany, and while many pundits focus on the lawmakers, I want to thank you, our activists and supporters. Together we will work harder than ever to cover more ground and build support all over the state, in both parties, among business leaders, people of faith and our union sisters and brothers. You keep making it happen, and I enter the new year filled with optimism about the great things that together we will be able to accomplish toward a more just Empire State.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Ross D. Levi
Executive Director
Empire State Pride Agenda

What the Senate outcome means

Post by Ross D. Levi, Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda

It’s becoming clear that there is going to be a change in leadership in the New York State Senate to the Republican Party. Some have speculated that this means an end to progress we will be able to make on LGBT issues here in New York, but I couldn’t disagree more.

We know that as a result of this election we start two votes ahead on marriage equality from where we were before, and have additional support on other issues like the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) and adequate funding for LGBT health and human services. Even more significant is the way this progress was achieved: In a state where incumbents win 98% of the time, we unseated two decades-long anti-LGBT incumbents – one Democrat and one Republican. Senators new and old will now be asking themselves whether they want the strength of our community used against them in the same way two short years from now if they vote against equality for their LGBT constituents.

Also, let’s not forget that the Pride Agenda and the LGBT community have achieved great things with both parties. Two of our most significant legislative victories – the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation – were passed with a Republican senate and a Republican governor. The environment for passing marriage and GENDA is even better than it was then.

We have a strong governor who was outspoken on our issues from day one of his campaign, and he will be joined by other statewide officials who were equally outspoken in favor of our issues. Contrast that to how things went for Carl Paladino. Legislators with ambitions for higher office have to realize that for the past two election cycles, no one has won any statewide office in New York without being expressly pro-LGBT. Maybe that’s because the public is on our side, with 58% of New Yorkers saying they favor marriage equality for same-sex couples and upwards of 70% believing New York should have a law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people.

Our community is coming out of this election cycle strong. We know we have a clear and credible opportunity for victory in 2011, but we also know we have a challenging session ahead of us. The economy and state budget are likely to loom large in Albany for the months to come, so we need to do the hard work of making sure our elected officials understand the importance of our issues, and ensuring that the next time our bills come up for a vote that they succeed.

• We need to highlight business leaders who will remind legislators that New York’s economy misses out on approximately $184 million that flows instead to neighboring states where marriage is permitted for same sex couples.
  
• We will raise up high profile faith leaders in support of marriage equality like Bishop Prince Singh of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, Bishop Robert Rimbo of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary, and add to their numbers.
  
• We will encourage our friends in law enforcement, the women’s movement and the business community to counteract the myths around basic civil rights protections for transgender people and remind elected officials that our state is falling behind the private sector in banning discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
  
• We will continue to remind our government officials of the state’s critical role in meeting the health and human service needs of New York’s LGBT community through policies, programs and resources.
  
• We will mobilize and add to our 2.5 million New York brothers and sisters in unions that support marriage equality and GENDA.
  
• We will make sure our representatives in Albany hear in person from their constituents by the hundreds, both at home in their districts and in Albany at our Equality & Justice Day in early May.

Won’t you be part of the important work we have to do in 2011? Victory is ours for the taking, but it will not be possible without you.

Hope for 2011

As you probably heard last week, a generous couple, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Freedom to Marry Political Director Sean Eldridge, have put forth a challenge to our supporters around our work for marriage equality. They have pledged to match every gift made to the Empire State Pride Agenda Foundation now through the end of the year up to $50,000. That means that every dollar that our supporters donate will go twice as far. I am so honored that Chris and Sean have shown their confidence in the Pride Agenda with this amazing donation. Will you join them and be part of our efforts to win marriage equality in New York?

The funds raised through this extraordinary effort can make the difference in the hard work that lies ahead in 2011. We know the best way to build support for marriage equality is through engaging our community and our allies -- nurturing welcoming communities of faith, celebrating LGBT members of unions, and helping workplaces affirm and support LGBT employees. These efforts build a solid base of supporters who will stand by our side when the going gets rough.

The work in the coming year won't be easy -- our fights never are -- but by pledging your support and meeting the challenge set by Chris and Sean, we will have the tools to build support among our staunchest allies, face obstacles head on and win!

• Through our Pride in My Workplace program, we are working with businesses and trade groups around the state to demonstrate that during these difficult economic times, marriage equality is good for New York and good for business, from helping employers attract great talent to our state to serving as a multi-million dollar economic development tool for a myriad of industries like hospitality and tourism.
  
• As the result of our Pride in the Pulpit program, leaders of faith have been among our strongest allies in recent years, with over 500 signing a letter in support of marriage for same-sex couples. These faith leaders are now working to ensure that all of their colleagues, including high-profile clergy across the state, will speak out on our behalf.
  
• In our Pride in Our Union program, we continue to broaden our reach to rank and file union members across the state who strongly support access to marriage for their LGBT union brothers and sisters. Already, unions representing over 2.5 million working New Yorkers have passed resolutions in support of marriage equality.

I have been inspired by the outpouring of leadership from these communities and many others, and their dedication to our work. The voices of all New Yorkers, LGBT and allies alike, are crucial to growing the consensus about why marriage equality matters. The Empire State Pride Agenda has a 20 year record of delivering concrete results for New York State's LGBT community. Be part of our next victories by helping us today!

Don't forget -- every dollar you donate today goes twice as far. Help fuel the fight for marriage equality across our great state -- from Buffalo to Montauk, from Poughkeepsie to Potsdam. Every New Yorker deserves equality!

Onwards to Justice!

Ross D. LeviExecutive Director
Empire State Pride Agenda

PS: Our allies are so important in our fight. If you are inspired to give today, please consider passing this message on to friends and family to stand by our side. We need all of their support!

Congratulations, Ross Levi, voted top choice at inaugural “AT&T Bold Honor”

We are thrilled to report that your votes made the difference! Empire State Pride Agenda’s Ross Levi has been recognized with the the inaugural “AT&T Bold Honor” for New York City.

Last month, as part of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) month, AT&T established the “AT&T Bold Honor,” recognizing an everyday individual in the LGBT community who has made a “bold difference” during the past year. Levi received the most votes after combining the online poll at daily.gay.com/boldhonors with in-person votes cast at the Here Media NYC Pride Party on June 22.

“Through their everyday actions and passion for their work, each of our nominees redefine the concept of ‘being bold,’” said Jennifer Jones, Vice President of Diverse Markets, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “We applaud Ross Levi, and all of those recognized, for championing important issues and for continuing to fight the bold fight.”

Way to go, Ross! Who do you think should be honored next?

Note to Brennan Center: One-house bills are not a bad thing

Ross Levi, our Director of Public Policy and Education, had the following to say about the Brennan Center's recent report on the workings of the New York State Legislature:

Not to toot our own horn, but we here at the Pride Agenda know a little something about the workings of Albany. Our organization was founded by a New York City PAC merging with an Albany-based grassroots political organization, and since then we have helped get dozens of laws through the state Legislature.

So we are all too familiar with what a complex, stubborn and even sometimes annoying machine Albany can be. The levers can stick too much, it can move way too slowly and the whole thing is just bigger and more cumbersome than it would be in an ideal world. For this reason, our public policy agenda states that, “We support actions that foster a more open, transparent and efficient state government.”

Consequently, we have great admiration for the many good government groups working here in Albany to achieve that very goal. That includes NYU’s Brennan Center which annually recommends improvements to the functioning of state government.

There are a number of points in the Brennan Center’s latest report, however, with which we disagree. Most notably, we question whether the low ratio of bills introduced to bills passed into law is any indication of the inefficiencies of state government. The Brennan Center contends that because only 1,693, or 9% of the bills introduced in 2008 became law, legislators should be limited in the number of bills that they can introduce each session. The report implies that the practice of passing “one house bills,” i.e. one chamber passing a bill that never receives a vote in the other chamber, is a waste of government’s time.

We beg to differ, based on our past experience. As you can see in the statement we issued yesterday, it has been an important part of past advocacy efforts to have LGBT civil rights legislation passed in one house – which in our history has overwhelmingly been the Democratic controlled Assembly – even when we knew a measure stood little to no chance of seeing any similar action in the other house during that same session.

We think it is wrong for the legislature to have that leadership used against them as a sign of legislative dysfunction. Quite the contrary, it has routinely been an explicit part of our advocacy strategy to get a bill passed in one chamber, build its backing in terms of numbers and bipartisan support and use that passage to increase the momentum and political pressure for the other house to move. It is also an important tool to “smoke-out” legislators’ positions around a measure, either for later votes or for when legislators move onto new elected positions, such as when they move from the Assembly to the Senate.

The strategy was a success with hate crimes legislation and the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, which each passed the Assembly for years before seeing even a vote in the Senate, and it is part of our work around the Dignity for All Students Act, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act and marriage equality legislation (though we hope and expect those measures will not need similarly long trails of one-house passage).

The rest of the state knows there is a value to one-house bills, too. When SONDA first passed the Assembly, it made the front page of the New York Times Metro section. This media attention is another value to one-house bills, in that it can appropriately bring attention to an issue that is going unaddressed, and serve as an important moment to begin or expand a civic “conversation.”

It is an appropriate part of the democratic process for one chamber to champion bills it views as priorities, even as those measures languish in the other house. The Brennan Center has a point that more frequent use of conference committees to reconcile similar-but-not-identical bills passed in both houses might be a good improvement. But we simply can’t agree that one chamber’s leadership on a one-house bill amounts to a waste of time and government resources. There are plenty of places to find inefficiencies in the legislative process, but surely this is not one of them.

Ross is based in the Pride Agenda's Albany office and is the longest serving current staff member at the Pride Agenda, starting as Legislative Counsel in 2000.