Triad Advocacy Network newsletter, July 1998

              Triad
Advocacy
Network
July-August 1998
Newsletter No. 6
TAN GEARS UP FOR 98
ELECTIONS
The Triad Advocacy Network, the Triad's
political voice for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgendered Community, is making plans for active
involvement in the 1998 elections.
TAN is now in the process of surveying the
candidates on issues of concern to the LGBT community.
Information about how these candidates stand will be
widely distributed before the November election. In
addition we will be conducting voter registration drives
and get-out-the-vote campaigns to ensure that the gay
community has a voice in the election and to counter the
anti-gay rhetoric of the extremist right.
To do all these things, it is vitally important that
we have your support and active involvement. We need
additional volunteers for voter registration, speaking to
community groups, meeting with government officials,
working with local media persons. There are also plenty
of behind the scene tasks. We hope that you will become
an active participant. Come to the monthly TAN meeting
on the fourth Monday of each month.
In order to more effectively support gay-friendly
candidates and have a bigger impact on the election
process, the Triad Advocacy Network Political Action
Committee is now being formed (See separate article on
this page.)
There are many important races in this year's
election. A lot of attention in North Carolina will be
focused on the U.S. Senate race between Republican
Lauch Faircloth and his Democratic challenger John
Edwards. Faircloth, widely known as a clone of Jesse
Helms, could be vulnerable if a strong campaign is
mounted. In addition, there are important races of the U.S.
House of Representatives in all districts. If Republicans
remain in control of Congress, we will be stuck with
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who recently compared
gay people to alcoholics and kleptomaniacs. Right-wing
NEXT TAN MEETING
Monday, July 27, 1998
7:30 p.m.
All Souls Welcoming Congregation, Kernersville.
Republicans have blocked important national legislation,
such as ENDA, and appointments of gay officials, such as
James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg.
The state legislature is also up for election this
year. At the state level is where much pro-gay and anti-
gay battles are being fought. TAN will be working along
with NC PridePAC to support gay friendly candidates.
TAN will especially be watching local election
races for county commissioners and school board It is at
the local level where radical right-wing religious
extremists attempt to take over. These races are important
to the LGBT community. For example, Steve Arnold is
seeking re-election to the Guilford County Board of
Commissioners. He is the one who introduced the
measure to defund the arts and who orchestrated an attack
on gays and lesbians at the commissioners meeting last
year. Although the anti-gay tone of the original resolution
was subsequently revised, we still need to have more gay-
friendfy commissioners.
Although most people pay little attention to
school board races, TAN will be watching them closely.
We need to elect those who support diversity and take a
stand against anti-gay harassment in schools.
TAN-PAC Formed To Fight For
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Causes In The Triad
The Triad Advocacy Network (TAN) has voted to
establish TAN-PAC, the Triad Advocacy Network
Political Action Committee.
TAN PAC will concentrate on local elections:
boards of county commissioners, school boards, city
councils/boards of aldermen and races for sheriff, initially
focusing on Forsyth and Guilford counties, but eventually
making recommendations throughout the Triad
For five years, TAN has worked in advocacy,
voter registration and education and media relations in the
Triad - and those efforts will continue - but state
elections laws preclude TAN and other organizations like
it from actually making election recommendations or
giving financial support to worthy candidates.
Continued on page 2
Visit TAN's website at
http://www.mindspring.com/-cwconne/tan