There is a reason that Katherine Patrick, the Governor’s out and proud lesbian daughter, has proudly endorsed Mike Lake in the race for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.
It is simple: Mike Lake is the candidate who consistently stands for our rights.
When Massachusetts made history in 2004 as the first state to have marriage equality, Mike stood next to Sonia Chang-Diaz at the State House wearing a shirt that read “Straight but not narrow.” Mike Lake’s commitment to issues concerning the LGBT community exemplifies the leadership he will bring as our next Lieutenant Governor.
Mike has also been endorsed by Governor’s Councillor Eileen Duff, the highest ranking LGBT official in Massachusetts. “When it mattered, Mike was at the State House supporting marriage equality, and we need friends who are as dedicated to our rights as Mike continues to be,” Duff says.
Katherine Patrick is clear on where Mike stands: “Mike is dedicated to upholding Massachusetts’ standards of equality and progressive social policy,” she said. “When the LGBT community was in need, Mike was at the State House standing with us to fight for our rights and his strong support made him a valued ally.”
Straight allies like Mike stood up when it wasn’t popular against those who worked to obstruct our fight for marriage equality.
For example, when Mike’s opponent Steve Kerrigan worked for Attorney General Tom Reilly, who was actively opposing the issuance of marriage licenses, Mike continued to adamantly stand with the community while Steve Kerrigan remained silent. The community must now choose between an ally who was there when we needed him, or a member of the LGBT community who wasn’t.
And Mike understands that marriage equality did not bring full social justice to the LGBT community. He will continue to actively fight for equality by supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and equal access to public accommodations for transgender people. Mike said: “The fight’s not over– additional work needs to be done to address LGBT teen suicide rates, youth homelessness and increased sensitivity for LGBT couples living in assisted care facilities. As an ally to the community, I promise to make these concerns a priority of our government.”
Mike is an active ally to our community. That is why leaders like Eileen Duff, Katherine Patrick, and our LGBT community supports Mike Lake’s campaign to be our next Lieutenant Governor.
Fred Rich LaRiccia Terry McGinty
Senior Advisor Speechwriter
Mike Lake for Lt. Governor Campaign
(Note: Fred Rich LaRiccia and Terry McGinty are longtime LGBT activists and members of Bay State Stonewall Democrats.)
And important to remember where people stood. While Steve Kerrigan was silent, and Leland Cheung was running in Virginia as an anti-tax Republican, Mike Lake was walking the walk when even state Democrats were afraid of this issue. One of the big reasons I supported Gov. Patrick and campaigned for him in the summer of 2005 when nobody knew who he was, was his early and strong commitment to this issue. I sense that same kind of commitment in Mike Lake, along with a strong commitment to continuing Tim Murray’s record of reaching out to cities and investing in our gateway cities again.
Mike Lake will be a drum major for those issues and a strong ambassador to the middle class with his own life story. He has consistently overcome adversity his entire life which has shaped his view that government needs to be expanded to help the needy. He is the only candidate with that perspective in this race, and more importantly can be credibly paired with any of the potential nominees.
I still need to do my due diligence on this and most of the other statewide races — after April 1st LOL — but this is very helpful information, thanks jconway.
I was not aware that Lake was gay, but then again, I did not know much about any of the Lt Gov. candidates. Guess I am missing the point you are trying to make…do you want me to believe that Leland Cheung could actually have gotten elected in Cambridge if he were an anti-tax Republican ? Or that Steve Kerrigan, himself gay, would fail to advance LGBT issues as Lt. Gov? Or that either Kerrigan or Cheung would not follow in Tim Murray’s fine example in promoting cities’ and towns’ concerns?
I think any of the 3 candidates could easily be paired with any of the Gov. candidates on a Dem. ticket. The negative attacks make me think less not more of Lake. I would suggest he focus on what he would bring to the ticket and convince me.
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Though it is true he did run as an anti-tax Republican as recently as 2005. He has stated on BMG now that he is a proud progressive, that he inherited his Republicanism from his family who had fled communism, and supporters of his I respect have backed that up. I was simply pointing out that Lake was an early and prominent supporter of equality rather than a latecomer. Plenty of progressives (Kerry, Biden, Obama, and the Clintons to name a few) also came to this position late. Also the initial piece made it clear that Mike Lake was an early and prominent straight ally of the equality movement and I viewed it as a largely positive piece. Personally, it will be a tight and low information race and contrasting the candidates records will be a factor in making a decision. That said, if you feel it had a negative tone you are welcome to read my entirely positive piece on why I am backing Mike Lake.
Kerrigan is himself gay. The fact that he worked on someone’s staff and could not stand on the steps of the State House protesting his boss shouldn’t be held against him.
This conversation has resolved itself in favor of Kerrigan. I like Lake, but this tastes of an unfair attempt to get a leg up on another candidate. I wonder if Mike Lake would be a good LG, or if he’d be working so hard to promote himself he’d interfere with a governor’s ability to do his job. I remember when Dukakis had to cancel an out-of-state trip when his LG was announcing she’d do things differently in his absence. I am starting to see Lake doing the same thing.
Has the politics of the race for Lieutenant Governor devolved to the point where a campaign is actually arguing that the (potentially) first openly gay Lieutenant Governor in the country isn’t gay enough? Perhaps more pointedly, has a straight candidate for Lieutenant Governor gotten so desperate that he’s hoping to score points attacking a gay man on LGBT issues?
Note that none of the LGBT advocates quoted here had anything negative to say about Mr. Kerrigan’s advocacy on behalf of his community. That conclusion is only drawn by the authors, who are both admittedly advisors to Mr. Lake. I doubt many in the LGBT community would agree with their self-serving statements.
A simple google search puts this non-argument to rest, as one of the first items that pops up is the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund’s endorsement of Mr. Kerrigan. Telling, to say the least.