There once was a time when people of opposing political ideologies could “meet in the middle.” Bipartisanship was something special. Patriotic on occasion, even. Politicians touted their ability to “get things done.”
A humblebrag, perhaps, it was used to attract voters from both sides of the political spectrum and keep them in office come general election time.
We now live in an era during which people aren’t ashamed to say “the quiet part out loud,” as a popular meme puts it. It can be shocking, but at least you know where everyone stands.
For example, Brownsville City Council President Lynda Chambers used International Women’s Month in March to complain from the dais that transgendered women are usurping women’s rights: “They’re representing us as women, but they’re not representing us as women. They are men dressed up as women.”
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Some may applaud, others may shudder, but hey, you know what she believes.
Where do Albany Councilors Marilyn Smith, Matilda Novak and Mayor Alex Johnson II stand on LGBTQ+ rights? We’re not totally sure.
During the council comments’ portion of the work session agenda May 10, newcomer(ish) Steph Newton proposed flying the progressive Pride flag at City Hall “as an essential act of representation” (put a pin on the phrasing here) during the month of June, which is celebrated in many places as Pride month.
Albany has been passing proclamations declaring June Pride month for six years now, and the city hosts an annual June Pride event that attracts hundreds, so it’s not nearly as controversial as it may be elsewhere, say, in Brownsville.
The motion passed, but Smith voted no and Novak declined to vote. Not needing to break a tie, the mayor didn’t weigh in.
But after the meeting, when the four who said yes — Jackie Montague, Ramycia McGhee, Ray Kopczynski and Newton — posed for a photo with the flag, Johnson first indicated he would join them. Yet after a brief sidebar with Smith, he changed his tune, saying the council wasn’t unanimous and the action “felt like a political statement.”
Both Smith and Novak have supported the Pride proclamation in the past. After the unanimous vote for last year’s declaration, Johnson said, “I encourage all residents to accept, celebrate and recognize the efforts and ongoing contributions of the LGBTQ communities within Albany and to work together to end discrimination against these members of our community.”
Since Johnson uttered those words, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled 50 years of precedent and threw abortion regulation back to the states. One justice, in a concurring opinion, put the “quiet part” in writing by saying the cases that upheld same-sex relationships and same-sex marriages should be reconsidered next.
Then in November, Republicans took the House and did well in state houses (though not as well in the U.S. Senate or some key governorships). As a consequence, the nation has only become ever more polarized on LGBTQ+ rights, and by rights, we mean the right to exist, to have their personhood recognized.
Consider, CNN reported last month that states are mulling 417 proposed bills considered anti-LGBTQ+. In Montana, the Legislature silenced the first transgender member as punishment for the words she chose in opposing a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for youths (so much for free speech).
A similar Florida ban signed into law this week also had a clause placing restrictions on adults seeking transgender medical treatment.
Closer to home, GOP members in the Oregon Senate walked off the job to prevent votes on several bills, including House Bill 2002, which in part would boost legal safeguards and expand access and insurance coverage for gender-affirming care.
Yet Smith, who seemed like an ally in the recent past, defended her vote not to fly the Pride flag as not necessary.
The numerous legislative attacks on the dignity of the LGBTQ+ community suggest otherwise. The increasing number of hate crimes perpetrated against LGBTQ+ individuals — up 70% in the most recent FBI statistics — proves it is indeed necessary.
It’s enough for Smith that the city’s value statements include such platitudes — our word, not Albany’s — as the city welcomes “the changes and new perspectives … diversity brings to us.”
As Smith puts it, “Actions speak louder than symbols.”
Except in this case, the action is flying the symbol, not the symbol itself. And posing for a photo, well, that’s an action mayors do all the time.
Remember Newton’s phrasing above? Flying the flag is an “act.” An “essential act.” We agree.
We throw the same criticism at Novak, a self-professed follower of QAnon who once lobbied hard, unsuccessfully, to remove fluoride from the city’s water. Before the vote, she offered to leave the room, saying, “I don’t want to be on either side of this.”
“This” is too damn important. There’s no room for cover anymore. This is not politics as usual. You don’t get to say one thing and do another. If there’s one good result to come from all this polarization, it’s that we get to know where everyone stands.
Mayor Johnson, Councilors Smith and Novak, please let us know. Because trying to hide in the middle isn’t working.