A must-read from today’s New York Times. In reality, it’s as much about how to get things done in Albany as it is about how to take the show on-the-road. But three lessons, at least:
• Leadership matters
• Make the most out of the fact that sentiments and power structures have changed
• Find the individual and collective ways those who are undecided might be swayed, and go for it with gusto
By now we all know newly-elected Gov. Andrew Cuomo was determined to make this happen. And he knows that leadership means brings people bringing together in ways, they might not want to be brought together.
Mr. Cuomo was diplomatic but candid with gay-rights advocates in early March when he summoned them to the Capitol’s Red Room, a ceremonial chamber with stained-glass windows and wood-paneled walls.
The advocates had contributed to the defeat of same-sex marriage in 2009, he told them, with their rampant infighting and disorganization. He had seen it firsthand, as attorney general, when organizers had given him wildly divergent advice about which senators to lobby and when, sometimes in bewildering back-to-back telephone calls.
“You can either focus on the goal, or we can spend a lot of time competing and destroying ourselves,” the governor said.
This time around, the lobbying had to be done the Cuomo way: with meticulous, top-down coordination. “I will be personally involved,” he said.
The gay-rights advocates agreed, or at least acquiesced. Five groups pushing for same-sex marriage merged into a single coalition, hired a prominent lobbying firm with ties to Mr. Cuomo’s office and gave themselves a new name: New Yorkers United for Marriage.
No doubt that sentiments around marriage have changed. Earlier this year a
Quinnipiac University poll showed 56% of New Yorkers wanted to see gay marriage legalized. But it wasn’t only sentiments that changed – so had power structures.
But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition.
And clearly, everyone who was on the fence got lobbied based on their own, personal reasons for ambivalence. In some cases, of course it was pure politics. But in some cases it was more personal than political, if possible. Surely there were the politicians torn apart by the fact that gay members of their own families had stopped speaking to them. But in the end, this was all about leadership appealing to
individual politician’s better selves. This was obvious,
if you listened to Republican State Senator Stephen Saland on the floor of the Senate last night. He was the vote number 32. The emphasis is mine:
Saland, known for his scholarly demeanor, voted against gay marriage in 2009. He didn't tip his hand until he spoke on the floor Friday in support of an amendment he helped craft to protect religious groups that refuse to cater to gay couples.
He said he received scores of emails and letters on the issue. He spoke of coming from a traditional background, but having parents who always taught him to "do the right thing."
"My intellectual and emotional journey has ended here today, and I have to define doing the right thing as treating all people with equality," Saland said.
As a first generation Cuban-American, I would be seriously negligent if I did not mention how impressed I was with the leadership of the Latino community on this issue in New York. The community was empowered to be an active part of the coalition, and in return, they did the right thing. Brilliantly. Sure, there were high-profile moments. Like when the
editorial pages of
El Diaro La Prensa, New York’s largest Spanish-language daily came out in support of marriage equality.
La homosexualidad es una realidad humana. La mayoría de los neoyorquinos tienen un amigo, colega o pariente gay. Es hora de darles a estas personas la oportunidad de desarrollar familia y construir comunidades. Nuestro gobierno no debe estar en el negocio de decirle a la gente de quien enamorarse o con quien casarse.
And when Erica Diaz, 22, the lesbian granddaughter of Albany's most outspoken gay-marriage foe -- state Senate Puerto Rican/ Latino caucus chair Ruben Diaz Sr.
wrote her story down for the
New York Post. She is also a former Navy seaman, who suffered from the military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
When I was younger, marriage equality was not an issue for me. But now, as my grandfather ceaselessly and callously comments on the issue, each and every word stings, since I live with my girlfriend of 2½ years, Naomi Torres, and our two sons, Jared and Jeremiah Munoz.
This fight is personal.
My family deserves the same benefits as others. Naomi -- whom I would like to marry -- should be able to do things that straight married people take for granted, like make a decision for me if I'm sick.
But mostly, the wonderfully diverse Latino community of New York State simply looked deeply within itself, and marvelously appealed to the better self. And for us that means remembering that first and foremost, we love our friends and members of our families – no matter who
they love. It also means taking into account that in the Latino community no matter what we may
personally feel about marriage equality, culturally we are not so much into the government getting involved in what we consider to be something "in the family." In a nutshell, it's about love and civil rights. And that transcends culture and ethnicity. It needs to be the way we get to the "undecideds" in our communities.
When California gets a second chance at this, I hope we learn some lessons from how the Latino community did it in New York. We were woefully bad at it the first time around.
What state is next up?
