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| Lydia Watts, named to take over the city’s HIV/AIDS Administration office,
was described as a born-again lesbian. (Photo by Leigh H. Mosley)
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D.C. HIV/AIDS Administration
717 14th St., NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
202-727-2500 |
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR. COMMENTS
 
continued...
Watts later cut off city funding for the
group.
Mike Jackson, a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Public Health,
said the department could not discuss any aspect of Watts’ actions or
work at the department under city personnel rules unless Watts submits a signed
waiver authorizing the release of such information.
Watts, who spoke briefly to reporters during and after the mayor’s Aug.
4 news conference, said she could not answer further questions until after
she takes office on Sept. 7.
Dan Bigg, executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, a non-profit
group that carries out a clean needle exchange program in Chicago, said Watts
created tension among AIDS activists in 1996 and 1997, when she fought hard
against city funding for needle exchange programs.
“She did more to set back needle exchange in Chicago than anyone else,” Bigg
said.
Bigg and Louis Weisberg, a former reporter for the Windy City Times, a Chicago
gay newspaper that reported on the controversy over the needle exchange program,
said activists were more troubled over Watts’ rationale for opposing
such programs.
Bigg said she stated at community meetings that needle exchange programs were
part of a “racial parlor trick” to keep African Americans in the
city’s poor neighborhoods addicted to drugs.
Weisberg said Watts used racially divisive arguments during the needle exchange
battle as well as during disputes over which groups in the city should receive
city funds for various AIDS programs.
“This happened five and six years ago,” Weisberg said. “I
don’t know if she’s changed her views on these issues.”
David Munar, associate director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, who called
Watts a “tough cookie,” said she was also highly competent in pushing
for AIDS programs for both African Americans and gays.
“My experience is that Lydia is excellent on gay issues,” said
Munar, who noted that she has told co-workers and others that she is a lesbian
and has a domestic partner.
The Windy City Times identified Watts as a gay candidate i
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