Payne could be second African American lesbian elected official in MA

Karen Payne is running for State Representative in the Sixth Suffolk District.

Karen Payne has spent the past 25 years living in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roslindale. She's been active in community service there, and has been the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions. And, if all goes according to plan, Payne will be the second openly lesbian African American elected official in Massachusetts come November.

"That's not the reason why I'm running," she told Bay Windows. "I'm running to serve the people in Sixth Suffolk [District]."

Denise Simmons became the first openly lesbian African American elected official in 2001 when she was voted a City Councilor of Cambridge. Simmons went on to become the nation's first openly lesbian African American mayor in 2008.

Payne has long appreciated the diversity that thrives in her district. "If I'm elected, I'll be serving all of that diversity," she said, including the LGBT community. "I don't focus on that; I focus on the work that needs to get done and what the community needs, and the community is looking at jobs, public safety, and high school dropouts."

More specifically, Payne plans to ensure that her district's young people have access to the resources they need to stay on a path leading to higher education. "I've worked on for the past several years on high school dropout prevention, ensuring that our young people are in school, have access to the support systems that they need, and that they're successful in obtaining their high school diploma and going to college or trade school, whatever their next step in life is going to be so that they can be successful," she said.

Payne also remarked on her district's high rates of unemployment. "We have to have real, sustainable jobs," she said, as well as better access to health care, especially for those at risk for contracting or living with HIV/AIDS. "One of the projects I've worked on over the last several years has been the HIV/AIDS prevention in the African American community. The highest number of folks that are infected with HIV/AIDS is African American women," she said. "We have young African American males, young people, and Latino people that are also contracting HIV/AIDS and it's really important for folks to be educated, to understand their status, and to have the services that are required for prevention.

"These are things that the community deserves to have, and that's what I'm going to be looking for."

The Democrat prides herself on a history of service to her community. Payne has led six HIV/AIDS awareness events, has served as the Democratic State Committeewoman since 2004, and is Co-chair of the Ward 19 Democratic Committee. She's the recipient of the 2007 E-5 Community Service Award from the Boston Police Department's Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit; the 2009 Women of Color: Changing Our World Award, given by the Prince Hall Grand Chapter Order of the Eastern Star; and received the 2009 Unsung Heroines Award.

Payne has already been endorsed by State Rep. Liz Malia, for whom she served as Campaign Treasurer. "I've worked with Representative Liz Malia since she's been in office," Payne said. "I've been her campaign advisor, manager, and her treasurer since she's been elected to the Eleventh Suffolk. She's endorsed me for this work and is very, very supportive."

Payne's other supporters include State Representative Willie Mae Allen, City Councilor Rob Consalvo, City Councilor John Tobin, City Councilor Maureen Feeney, State Representative Gloria Fox, and State Representative Alice Wolf.

"If I've not been fully publicly endorsed by folks, they've said, 'We wish you the best of luck and that you do well in the House,'" Payne said. "So I've gotten a lot of support from our elected officials."