QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS FROM OUR LBGTQ MAYORAL FORUM

There was not a specific questionnaire but I wanted to frame question topics from other organizations and direct these questions to our LBGTQ  citizens.



If elected, what will be your top three priorities as regards LBGTQ issues?   List them in order and explain why they are ordered this way.

Baltimore as a conservative southern city has not had a window of education and enlightenment on issues of LGBTQ as our other cities like San Fran, Chicago, NYC etc.  We were able to push through good legislation for the rights of the community and now we need to start that education and consensus building on these issues.  We cannot skip this stage in LGBTQ rights policy promotion.  That said, I will integrate into all community building and cultural arts in each community funding to do just that.  This means funding our arts, media, and spoken word LGBTQ venues and see that they have access in all public spaces and across communities.

I have the only campaign platform based upon enforcing Federal civil rights and civil liberties and that includes the LBGTQ rights just won with our Maryland Assembly.  Did you know Maryland and especially Baltimore are the best in the nation at what I call----progressive posing?  This means they write legislation that sounds progressive and then do not enforce it or write it with loopholes so large it is unenforceable.  If a mayor is not going to build the network of oversight and accountability for the enforcement of all civil rights and liberties including LBGTQ---then if a corporation or public venue wants to exclude---they will.  This is especially true with the PARTNERS rights -----workplace rights of combined health insurance, benefits, tax payments----and in medical rights as in partner rights to determine medical treatment decisions for the other.  If left unenforced----this will be handled in whatever is cheapest.

Baltimore is designated as an International Economic Zone and has already basically installed Trans Pacific Trade Pact but will move faster as Congress makes this official.  With that comes an effect on PHARMA and medical equipment, devices, procedures with patents that will create huge inequity in access to health care and would deregulate oversight and accountability ending the clinical trial/FDA protections assuring patient safety that will harm all citizens----but HIV/AIDS patients and AIDS hospice the most.  International AIDS justice organizations have for several years decried what TPP will do to world and US health standards on what has become a manageable disease vector.  Even if Wall Street pols tell you this won't happen in the US----it will happen.  My platform of EXPANDED AND IMPROVED MEDICARE FOR ALL will address that by rebuilding our public health sector creating a public option system open to all Baltimore citizens and include all health care needs including our LGBTQ community health needs.



 
To reduce crime against LBGTQ citizens, what must the police department do that it is not doing?   What would you do to improve police-community relations?


The first thing I will do in reforming Baltimore's police department is change the mission from ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS------to SERVE AND PROTECT CITIZENS.  The former was installed a few decades ago as global pols moved towards more militarized policing.  Baltimore Police Department is tied to a global military policing corporation that trains our police officers and promotes policing tactics that do not match our US Constitutional rights and Rule of Law nation.  If you are going to embrace that policing philosophy----you can then move to a real community policing strategy.  Hiring from communities----creating more categories of policing that are community relations orientated---we need police officers integrated into all kinds of community venues in a non-criminal enforcement capacity.  Ending crime quotas and zero-tolerance and building real oversight and accountability into our police department gives the transparency everyone wants.  My platform is centered on rebuilding PUBLIC JUSTICE in Baltimore that has been dismantled in modern history.  This will give citizens REAL access to justice when policing violations occur and that included for our LBGTQ community.



 
 In terms of public education, how will you continue the gains made for the LBGTQ community as regards rights and community acceptance and support?  How will you accomplish these things?

I stated above this window of education is critical and it will be funded and expanded throughout all public structures---from media talk shows to community theater and performances.  Lessons in public schools and having our Baltimore Public Health Department with literature educating on issues are key especially for our Trans citizens who are back to where LBG were 30 years ago.  Trans have the benefit of those decades of public education and it will not take as long but we must take the time to build those feelings of inclusion.  Issues of public showers or bathrooms are really not so critical if you are going to install structures as uni-gender bathrooms and showering facilities that allow for privacy.  Soon those considerations will not be needed.




 
Baltimore has thousands of vacant buildings and thousands of homeless people. How would you address the housing issues for seniors and LBGTQ citizens falling into homelessness/ unstable housing policies?

If you have a vision of ONE BALTIMORE being one of rebuilding all our communities for the citizens here with small business economies and while doing that rebuilding the public structures in all communities reconnecting our Baltimore City agencies to citizens in communities as THEY SHOULD BE----you will be embracing a development policy that includes all citizens.  Since I have said I will enforce Federal Equal Protection laws this means for housing and education as well----it means that Federal funds for HUD, Enterprise Zone, and other housing projects will be directed at the housing needs of low-middle-income citizens in each community.  If you are going to move the public housing from the concentrated city center high-rises and make public housing part of all mixed-income formulas then that housing will be available in a person's community as needed.  I am going to do the same with our public shelter system as each community will have a public shelter for those citizens falling into need and our LGBTQ community will have equal access and facilities needed.


 
Ensuring Affordable Housing-how will you ensure the rights of LGBTQ citizens to equal access and opportunity in housing needs?

Stated above-----I will enforce Federal Equal Protection laws and build the structures into each Baltimore City agency to do that including our HUD/housing agency.



 
What do you think are some of the biggest problems facing the LBGTQ citizens in Baltimore City public schools today? If elected, how would you help solve these problems?

Baltimore has a bullying problem centered on decades of very deep injustice and a strong attachment to class and race issues.  Add to that the deep poverty and chronic unemployment with scarcity of resources and you see the mix that comes to our schools each day.  The violence and black market crime hits our young citizens early.  All of this exists without even thinking about the LBGTQ issues.  Be aware of the work needed to be done in general with these bullying/violence issues and not always assume it is directed at being LBGTQ.  If you are committed to addressing all of the above in existing community culture----this will fall into place for everyone.  Building each community with a small business economy, rehabbed home ownership, fresh food economy will stabilize and create healthy options and opportunities.  Bringing our public agencies out into our communities will bring all that public service right to the community and track those citizens needing help for the long term.  This will bring citizens out of the black market economy to reintegrate----it will induce citizens to seek help and stay with it----and that is how we address the bullying and violence in our schools.  Add to that public awareness education in our schools and communities----and LBGTQ issues are addressed as well.



 
Violence in the city schools. What do you think is the best strategy to assure that our school buildings are safe and welcoming environments for LGBTQ children, teachers, and other education professionals in Baltimore City?

I stated a short-term strategy above but let's look at the immediate needs.  Right now we have metal detectors at all entrances and we have school security staff at each school---I do not like having police officers in schools.  We must have more community volunteers in our classrooms and by extension also walking the halls and in and out of bathrooms.  That presence along makes it hard for students wanting to be violent or bullying to do so.  Having a REAL anonymous system for students and teachers to report problem students taking the fear of retribution away.  Search and seizure policies in our schools can often be abused and deny our students their US Constitutional rights to privacy and reasonable suspicion so I will not allow student rights to be denied in trying to prevent an incident.  We must have that evidence to advance into private space.  Having all of the above in place will create that safety net for our teachers and students and that includes our LGBTQ students.
 


 
Baltimore City’s unemployment rate is about double that of the rest of the state—not counting those underemployed or not looking for work. What would you do to improve this for the LBGTQ community?

Baltimore has this high unemployment rate because the city has been locked in complete stagnation by powerful global corporations controlling our Baltimore City Hall.  Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins garner too much power in our economy and development and my platform removes all global corporations from every Baltimore City agency and building them out to each community.  When you do this all of the hiring for public agencies comes to the communities and not to foreign or outsourced to national employment industries.  If you are rebuilding small business economies in each community complete with an arts, music, spoken word, emerging technology economy there will be plenty of jobs in every field and we will free Baltimore from that stagnant monopoly of corporations controlling all.  The other factor in this development is moving from the current GLOBAL CORPORATE CAMPUS AND GLOBAL FACTORY format of International Economic Zone policy and instead building small, local manufacturing for all product needs.  In doing that one mechanism will be the small business co-op subsidized for any citizen group wanting to provide that manufacturing or small business competition to existing corporations in the city.  LBGTQ citizens may want their own co-op business for example.

 
 
Supporting Youth-Led Employment-----Will you ensure that the young LBGTQ citizens of Baltimore City have the resources and support they need to create year-round peer-to-peer opportunities for youth jobs and neighborhood empowerment? 

One of the strongest parts of my vision of rebuilding each community in Baltimore is building the inter-community connectivity missing for ever in the city.  If you are going to build a unique recreation venue in each community bringing citizens from one community to another----if you are building a public school in each community and creating structures for inter-community competitions and after-school programs----if you are building cultural venues in each community that will want to take their arts to all other communities----if you are building a REAL fresh food economy in each community there will be fresh food to share between communities and farmers markets.  All of this builds the kind of dialog needed for neighborhood growth and stability----creates a platform for equitable growth and funding in all communities-----and it will focus on placing our youth into all of those inter-community connections including our LBGTQ citizens.



 
Using City Deposits to Advance LBGTQ Equity------------Will you leverage city deposits to create greater LBGTQ equity by advocating the passage of a Responsible Banking Ordinance that leverages municipal deposits to reverse patterns of discrimination and disinvestment?

Absolutely.  My platform of Public Banking in the city is to do just that.  We need all Baltimore City revenue sources----all Federal and state funding ------we need to induce our Baltimore and Maryland State employees credit unions to place their funds in with ours in focusing on rebuilding each community.  This creates the revenue pool for lending; protection for those banking-challenged; and it will all be done under Federal Equal Protection laws meaning LBGTQ will have equal access.



 
 
Health Care issues for LBGTQ
Accessing primary care----health care insurance-----health issues around HIV-AIDS------partners rights in health treatment----

This is critical to LBGTQ as for all citizens.  Expanded and Improved Medicare for All builds that public health platform for any citizen wanting to be part of what will be the quality health care all Americans have known throughout modern history.  Bringing our public health and mental health clinics into each community will not only assure access----it will be the point of data collection and tracking programs with transparency and the goal of long-term patient oversight to assure positive health outcomes.  As I stated, HIV-AIDS prevention, treatment, and AIDS hospice will be included in these public structures.  As regards the very private and profit-driven global corporate health system being developed in Baltimore I will be building oversight and accountability, regulation enforcement, and building the structures to assure health practice and PHARMA safety and access.  Profiteering is the goal of these private health plans and I will be the voice fighting this in Baltimore and at the Federal level.  HIPAA, Patient's Bill of Rights, health data privacy ----all central to my oversight focus.  Know what the Affordable Care Act created?  For-profit hospitals and health systems and with that comes taxation.  Allowing what all know to be corporations to pay taxes will fund our public health system.