Gay
activists
are
evaluating
the
positions
of
candidates
for
the
D.C.
Board
of
Education
on
issues
such
as
same-sex
dating
among
students
and
the
right
of
students
to
form
gay
clubs
in
schools
in
an
election
next
week
where
few,
if
any,
surprises
are
expected
for
the
big
name
candidates
at
the
top
of
the
ticket.
In
a
city
where
registered
Democrats
outnumber
Republicans
by
a
nine
to
one
margin,
Democratic
presidential
candidate
John
Kerry
is
expected
to
defeat
President
Bush
in
the
District
of
Columbia
by
a
landslide
on
Nov.
2,
capturing
the
city’s
three
electoral
votes.
The
Democratic
candidates
for
seats
on
the
D.C.
Council
who
emerged
as
winners
in
the
city’s
September
primary
are
also
expected
to
breeze
to
victory
over
their
Republican
or
Statehood
Green
Party
rivals.
Among
them
is
former
mayor
Marion
Barry,
who
ousted
incumbent
Democrat
Sandra
Allen
in
the
primary
for
the
Ward
8
Council
seat.
All
have
expressed
support
for
gay
and
AIDS
related
issues,
although
some
have
received
higher
ratings
than
others
from
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance
[see
chart
on
Page
10],
which
assesses
the
candidates
on
a
wide
range
of
issues
of
interest
to
the
gay
community.
The
Gertrude
Stein
Democratic
Club,
a
local
gay
group,
is
supporting
the
Democratic
nominees,
said
club
president
David
Meadows.
The
Council’s
lone
Republican,
Carol
Schwartz,
who
enjoys
widespread
support
from
Democrats,
including
gay
residents,
is
set
to
become
another
winner,
according
to
political
observers,
despite
her
opposition
to
same-sex
marriage.
The
other
at-large
candidates
are
the
Statehood
Greens’
Laurent
Ross
and
independent
Tony
Dominguez.
D.C.
Congressional
Delegate
Eleanor
Holmes
Norton
(D-D.C.),
a
longtime
proponent
of
gay
rights,
is
the
odds-on
favorite
to
join
Schwartz
and
the
Democratic
Council
candidates
in
victory
on
Nov.
2.
This
leaves
the
races
for
two
D.C.
school
board
seats
and
dozens
of
contested
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commission
seats
as
the
only
races
where
the
winners
are
yet
to
be
determined.
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commissions,
known
as
ANCs,
serve
as
advisory
bodies
on
regulatory
issues
in
neighborhoods
throughout
the
city.
They
play
a
key
role
in
advising
the
city
on
the
approval
of
licenses
for
nightlife
and
entertainment
establishments
such
as
bars,
nightclubs
and
restaurants.
At
least
11
openly
gay
candidates
are
running
for
ANC
seats,
with
some
of
them
on
the
opposite
side
of
regulatory
policies
that
gay
nightlife
advocates
say
could
be
harmful
to
gay
bars.
In
the
school
board
race
for
District
1,
which
includes
Wards
1
and
2,
four
candidates
are
competing
for
the
seat
being
vacated
by
incumbent
Julie
Mikuta,
who
announced
she
would
not
seek
re-election.
Only
two
of
the
four
District
1
candidates,
Keenan
R.
Keller
and
Christopher
D.
McKeon,
completed
a
questionnaire
on
gay
related
school
issues
for
GLAA,
a
small
group
of
local
gay
activists.
Keller
received
a
GLAA
rating
of
+8
while
McKeon,
a
member
of
the
anti-gay
Unification
Church
headed
by
the
Rev.
Sun
Myung
Moon,
received
a
–7.
GLAA
rates
candidates
on
a
scale
of
–10
to
+10.
The
other
two
candidates,
Jeff
Smith
and
Eleanor
Johnson,
received
a
GLAA
rating
of
0
because
they
did
not
return
the
questionnaire.
Smith
stated
at
a
meeting
of
the
Gertrude
Stein
Democratic
Club
last
week
that
he
supports
gay
rights
and
favors
the
gay
and
AIDS
related
school
issues.
Gay
D.C.
Council
member
Jim
Graham
and
gay
at-large
school
board
member
Mirian
Saez
have
endorsed
Smith,
saying
they
believe
he
is
supportive
on
gay
issues
and
has
the
overall
qualifications
needed
to
serve
on
the
school
board.
“I
would
not
have
endorsed
him
if
I
thought
he
was
not
supportive
on
these
important
issues,”
Graham
said.
However,
during
his
appearance
before
the
Stein
Club,
Smith
did
not
specifically
commit
himself
to
the
policies
that
Keller
expressed
support
for
in
the
GLAA
questionnaire.
Among
them
is
a
call
by
GLAA
for
the
recognition
of
the
“right
of
our
public
school
students
to
organize
clubs
to
promote
lesbian
and
gay
civil
rights,
to
combat
homophobic
violence
and
prejudice,
and
to
provide
socializing
opportunities
for
gay
youth.”
Other
issues
that
Keller
supported
in
the
GLAA
questionnaire
include
the
following:
-
the
right
of
students
to
“bring
dates
of
the
same
sex”
to
school
proms
and
other
school
functions;
-
efforts
by
the
gay
parents
group
PFLAG
to
provide
“gay
positive
books”
in
school
libraries
and
opposing
efforts
by
school
administrators
to
censor
or
ban
such
books
in
school
libraries;
-
allowing
teachers
to
invite
openly
gay
speakers
to
address
their
classes
and
answer
students’
questions
about
homosexuality;
-
a
comprehensive
sex
education
program
that
“teaches
that
homosexuality
is
a
part
of
the
normal
range
of
human
sexuality,
consistent
with
existing
school
policy”;
and
-
support
for
the
D.C.
school
system’s
existing
condom
availability
program,
which
allows
school
nurses
to
provide
condoms
to
high
school
students
under
certain
circumstances.
In
his
...
