Coalition of the unwilling?

One potential obstacle to the effectiveness of the LGBT community this session has been the prospect of a turf war between MassEquality and other organizations that had long lobbied the legislature on LGBT issues, such as the Mass. Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Before MassEquality voted to expand its mission to become a multi-issue LGBT advocacy organization the Caucus and the ACLU had been the top lobbying team on most LGBT issues, with Caucus co-chair Arline Isaacson leading the charge. As Bay Windows has previously reported, Isaacson, a former MassEquality board member, voted against expanding the organization's mission during a Nov. 2007 board meeting, and her fellow co-chair Gary Daffin told Bay Windows he disagreed with the decision to transform MassEquality from a coalition focused on the marriage issue to a free-standing advocacy organization. This year the two organizations were both in the State House lobbying on LGBT issues, and while both organizations claim to be working well together, that hasn't always been the case in practice.

On the effort to repeal the 1913 law, the most high profile LGBT victory this year, the organizations had no contact. When MassEquality began reaching out to Governor Deval Patrick, House Speaker Sal DiMasi, and Senate President Therese Murray, it did so without input from the Caucus or the ACLU.

"We wanted it to be done very quietly. We knew if word got out all over the place these crazy right-wingers from across the country would begin flooding legislators' inboxes. ... It didn't become public until the House started doing a poll on it," said Solomon.

Asked about the Caucus's role in the effort to pass the 1913 law repeal bill Isaacson responded, "The Caucus has been deeply involved in this," but she declined to provide specific details.

MassEquality also left at least one high profile ally, original bill sponsor Rep. Robert Spellane, out of the loop. Spellane said he received no contact from any of the LGBT advocacy organizations while he was working to repeal the bill.

"At no point over four years was I ever contacted directly by the advocates. I was contacted by people in my district on the grassroots level who felt this was an important issue. ... I do not see, at least my experience in this issue, that the statewide organization has had a huge impact," said Spellane. "For me the main impact of this issue, as in most, is the people in my district talking about the impact this has had on them and why it's important to them."

Solomon declined to comment on Spellane's complaints about being ignored by MassEquality but said, "I was working closely with the Speaker's office and [Rep.] Byron Rushing on the bill."

Advocates say the Caucus and MassEquality did work together effectively to pass MassHealth Equality and to add more funding to the state's youth budget advocates.

"In terms of those two organizations they were at the table with us at regular meetings and would add their perspectives and opinions of next steps to take, and were working collaboratively with the same effort of trying to move us forward," said LGBT Aging Project director Lisa Krinsky, talking about the effort to pass the MassHealth Equality bill. "Both the Caucus and MassEquality and the Aging Project were all working together."

She said the Caucus's lobbyist, Bill Conley, was a core member of the strategy team working on the bill from day one and remained a key ally leading to the bill's final passage. She also credited MassEquality with getting the coalition in contact with Patrick's office to help make the bill a high priority on the Beacon Hill agenda.

Rep. Liz Malia, lead sponsor of the MassHealth Equality bill, agreed, saying that there were no noticeable conflicts that impacted the lobbying effort for the bill.

"Individual people in both the Caucus and MassEquality and the LGBT Aging Project were extraordinarily effective in utilizing their best skills. Again, there are personality differences all the time and people might have a different approach, but in the end everyone came to the table and utilized their strengths," said Malia.

Eleni Carr, vice-chair of the Massachusetts Commission on GLBT Youth and chair of the commission's government relations committee, said in the Youth Commission's work lobbying for funding increases both Conley and MassEquality's political director, Matt McTighe, were core members of the lobby team.

"I think for us, we cultivated relationships with representatives of each organization kind of early on, we brought it up and decided to figure out what we really needed to do to advance our goals jointly, because our goals are the same goals. We made an agreement, let's not be fragmented. ... We got nothing but that kind of spirit coming out of it," said Carr. She said Conley, McTighe, and members of the commission all lobbied lawmakers together, and there were no disputes over territory.

Yet even in these areas where the organizations worked together, they showed a reluctance to acknowledge that partnership. In May when the House approved funding increases for LGBT youth, elder, and domestic violence programs, as well as HIV/AIDS services, the Caucus sent out an action alert attributing the gains to the work of the Caucus, lawmakers and coalition partners, but it did not name those coalition partners. Two months later when both chambers released the final budget with increases in all of those areas MassEquality issued a release saying that it had "led the lobbying effort" for the funding increases. The MassEquality release praised a laundry list of coalition partners, including the Aging Project, the Youth Commission, the Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project, Ethos, and The Network/La Red, but the Caucus's name was conspicuously absent.

MassEquality executive director Marc Solomon described the relationship between the Caucus and MassEquality as positive, despite MassEquality's decision to keep the Caucus out of the loop on the 1913 law repeal bill.

"The relationship is strong and collaborative," said Solomon. "On pieces of legislation that are important to the community it's critical to bring everything to bear to advance them. On the transgender bill we're working in coalition with the Caucus, with the ACLU, with the Bar Association. That's all really important, to use every resource at our disposal, collectively. There's no question we're working together."

When asked to describe the relationship between the Caucus and MassEquality Isaacson's answer was less than effusive.

"The Caucus feels very strongly that our community deserves to have all the organizations working on gay issues work together in a positive fashion, and nothing less than that is acceptable," said Isaacson. "MGLPC is committed to that and will always do that. MGLPC has worked on these issues for years and years. Our work has made a huge difference, and we're committed to continuing to do that with any organization that wants to."