ANC Commissioner Jack Jacobson
(Blade file photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Gay Washington resident Jack Jacobson is getting accustomed to his new role as a city ANC commissioner having won a special election this month to fill the seat.
“Things have been going well so far,” Jacobson, 30, said. “I’ve been working on several projects like trash removal, parking issues and keeping an eye on some construction projects.”
Jacobson’s district, ANC-2B04, is populated by many gay residents and several gay and gay-friendly businesses. It covers a section of the city outlined by 15th to 17th and Q to S streets. The popular 17th Street corridor, where JR.’s, Annie’s and other gay watering holes abound, is in Jacobson’s district.
“I’m just starting to track down and learn to navigate the bureaucracy,” Jacobson said.
The March 12 special election found Jacobson running against another gay candidate, lesbian Marisa Uchin. She came in second with 53 votes to Jacobson’s 62. The other two candidates, both straight, trailed with less than half the number of votes the gay candidates received.
The special election was held because the previous commissioner, Ryan Butler, moved to North Carolina. To hold his seat, Jacobson will have to run again in November.
“I’m definitely going to run again,” Jacobson said. “I’m just starting to cut my teeth.”
Is Uchin up for a rematch?
“I’ve certainly thought about it but I haven’t made a decision yet,” Uchin said.
“I think it was a great election and I’m happy that we managed to energize the community to come out and pay attention and get involved in their neighborhood.”
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
The administrators of Crisis Link — a call-in service that covers Northern Virginia as part of the national suicide hotline — are crying foul in a response to a proposed $135,000 reduction in program funding from Fairfax County.
Administrators are calling for public support in resisting the proposed reduction of funding and are saying their organization often provides services to members of the gay community in crisis.
The possible elimination of $135,000 in Fairfax County funds, proposed by the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, would be the result of the elimination of the county’s contract with Crisis Link.
Carol Loftur-Thun, executive director for Crisis Link, said Fairfax County funds make up about 25 percent of the hotline’s cash funding.
“Losing a quarter of funding for that program … that would be difficult for Crisis Link to be able to make up and that would certainly have an impact on our services,” she said.
Loftur-Thun said she did not know yet how services would be cut and said Crisis Link is more focused on fighting the proposed reduction.
The Fairfax County Board is scheduled to review the possible reduction at an April 2 meeting. Loftur-Thun is calling on supporters to make an appearance to show their support for Crisis Link.
Issues with sexual orientation often prompt people to call the hotline, Loftur-Thun said. Calls related to people struggling with these issues are “certainly not rare,” she said.
Gay youth often feel like their sexual orientation gives them a stigma and “that can certainly increase the risk of them feeling like they have nowhere to run,” Loftur-Thun said.
The argument for eliminating county funds is that “2-1-1 Virginia,” a new program funded by the state, would be able to take on Fairfax County’s load of crisis calls, Loftur-Thun said.
Gerry Connelly, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said he does not support the funding cut for Crisis Link and said he “will work hard to try to restore that funding.”
CHRIS JOHNSON
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