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- JOHN SHIELDS
Friday, January 04, 2008
TACOMA
PARK,
Md.
—
Meeting
Bruce
Williams
is
like
meeting
one
of
your
neighbors
when
walking
to
get
milk
or
calling
to
ask
for
a
cup
of
sugar.
After
15
years
in
public
office,
Williams,
who
is
gay,
was
elected
mayor
of
Tacoma
Park
late
last
year.
How
have
things
changed
in
the
15
years
since
he’s
been
in
public
life?
“Tuxedos,”
he
says,
noting
the
more
formal
nature
of
being
mayor.
“When
I
was
first
elected
as
a
city
council
person
in
1993,”
Williams
says,
“I
wondered
what
it
was
going
to
be
like
running
as
an
openly
gay
official.
I
was
happy
to
find
out
in
Takoma
Park
that
it
just
wasn’t
an
issue.”
Telling
one
of
his
favorite
stories,
Williams
recalls
the
time
a
local
television
reporter
went
to
a
house
in
his
neighborhood
when
he
was
first
elected.
A
woman,
with
her
hair
in
curlers
and
a
baby
on
each
hip,
answers
the
door.
Williams
says
the
reporter
asked
if
the
woman
knew
her
new
councilman
was
gay.
“And?”
Williams
recalls
as
the
woman’s
“who-cares”
reaction.
When
asked
if
being
gay
has
affected
him
or
his
constituents,
Williams
says,
“I
don’t
think
it
has.
I
think
it
is
just
one
factor
among
many.
What
my
constituents
look
at
is
my
willingness
to
serve,
my
competence
to
serve,
the
fact
that
I
show
up,
I
listen
and
I
try
and
make
thoughtful
decisions.”
Williams
says
the
main
concerns
of
his
constituents
are
affordable
housing,
schools,
immigration
and
taxes,
but
the
right
for
same-sex
couples
to
marry
or
form
civil
unions
is
also
an
issue.
“People
want
us
and
expect
us
to
take
that
type
of
action,
so
one
of
the
things
I
did
was
lobby
to
have
a
committee
formed
to
look
at
family
issues.
I
was
chair
of
the
committee
and
we
went
through
the
whole
city
code
and
fixed
everything
in
the
code
to
make
it
friendly
to
all
kinds
of
families
—
domestic
partnerships
were
established,
health
insurance
benefits,
those
kinds
of
things.”
At
the
time,
the
city
insurance
carrier
did
not
offer
domestic
partnership
benefits
but
Williams
says
the
committee
fought
to
offer
them.
The
insurance
group
responded
that
if
it
offered
them
to
Takoma
Park,
then
it
would
have
to
offer
them
to
every
other
jurisdiction
in
Maryland.
Williams
responded,
“Yes,
and?”
With
his
guidance,
Takoma
Park
convinced
the
Local
Government
Insurance
Trust
to
offer
domestic
partnership
benefits.
Williams
and
his
partner,
Geoffrey
Burkhart,
have
been
together
30
years.
“At
various
times
we
have
said
‘would
we
get
married
if
we
could?’
and
we’ve
never
really
forced
the
conclusion.
I
would
say
there
have
been
times
in
my
life
where
I
would
say
‘No,
I
don’t
want
to
go
there,
that’s
somebody
else’s
model’
but
I
think
we
would
if
we
could.”
“My
parents
were
comfortable
with
me
on
an
individual
basis,
but
it
wasn’t
something
they
would
talk
to
other
people
about
—
it
was
kind
of
cordoned
off
a
little
bit,”
he
says.
“After
I
got
elected
and
was
out
and
Geoffrey
and
I
would
ride
in
the
Fourth
of
July
parade,
or
something
like
that,
at
one
point
my
parents
said
‘You
know,
seeing
how
comfortable
you
are
with
your
life
and
that
you
are
proud
and
open,
it
makes
it
that
much
easier
for
us
to
feel
proud
of
you
and
share
that
pride
with
other
people.’”
Williams
says
what
has
changed
for
him
since
becoming
mayor
is
he
gets
a
lot
more
attention
and
recognition
representing
Takoma
Park,
more
so
than
as
a
council
member.
“More
than
I
realized,
and
it’s
nice
to
have
that
recognition,
but
with
it
comes
added
responsibility.
I
welcome
that
responsibility,
but
I
also
realize
I
need
everyone’s
help
to
continue
making
Takoma
Park
a
great
place
to
live.”
Williams
says
he’s
especially
proud
of
his
city’s
stance
on
immigration.
“We
consciously
made
a
decision
to
not
allow
our
police
department
to
look
into
the
federal
database
to
find
convicted
felons
who
have
been
deported.
We
have
been
a
sanctuary
city
for
more
than
20
years
and
that
would
send
exactly
the
wrong
message
to
our
community.
The
people
most
affected
by
criminals
are
the
people
that
live
in
the
community.
If
they
aren’t
willing
to
talk
to
the
police,
that
makes
all
of
us
less
safe.”
Serving
with
Williams
on
the
seven-member
Council
is
Colleen
Clay,
recently
re-elected
to
her
second
term.
Clay
and
her
partner,
Karen
Vernon,
moved
to
Takoma
Park
four
years
ago.
Like
Williams,
she
says
being
gay
hasn’t
been
an
issue.
“Oh,
I’m
definitely
out,”
she
says.
“It
doesn’t,
however,
affect
my
ability
to
advocate
for
my
constituents.
I
like
helping
people
in
my
community
solve
problems.”
She
says
the
diversity
is
what
she
likes
best
about
Takoma
Park.
As
for
marriage
and
civil
unions,
Clay
says
she
“believes
in
complete
equality
for
everyone,
but
you
have
to
operate
within
political
and
cultural
realities.
Do
you
have
the
option
is
the
real
question.”
And,
for
now
at
least,
that
is
not
an
option
in
Maryland.
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