Chicago mayoral candidate Carol Moseley Braun met with about two dozen LGBT activists and leaders Jan. 19 at Ald. Tom Tunney's Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont. Tunney was at the restaurant and greeted Braun, but did not attend the informal gathering.
State Rep. Harris also attended the breakfast, as he has done with other mayoral candidates, but the event was not an endorsement session.
The individuals at the breakfast included those from a range of non-profit groups. The questions ranged from specific LGBT issues, to healthcare and AIDS, bullying in schools, immigration, crime, city budget issues and more.
Groups represented included Amigas Latinas, Affinity, Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus, Windy City Black Pride, Howard Brown Health Center, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, Lambda Legal, the LGBT Committee of the Chicago Teacher's Union, LGBT Change, The Civil Rights Agenda, and The CORE Center.
Lowell Jaffe from The Civil Rights Agenda introduced Braun at the breakfast. He praised her long-standing record on gay issues, including 1990s U.S. Senate votes against Don't Ask, Don't Tell ( joined by just 11 colleagues ) and the Defense of Marriage Act ( joined by 13 colleagues ) signed by President Clinton.
Braun also supported the passage of Chicago's gay-rights ordinance, and other gay causes, during her decades-long career in local, state and federal office. Braun was the first U.S. Senator to appoint an LGBT liaison for her constituency. She is in the city's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Braun spoke about her support of LGBT issues, and then addressed her other priorities for the city.
"No single person has all the answers," said Braun said in a statement after the event. "That's why it's vital to get into every community, every neighborhood, and listen to the people who are in the trenches. This morning's breakfast was a success because there was an abundance of ideas and suggestions. I walked away with insights and policy initiatives that I wouldn't get sitting behind a desk."
While Braun does have a long record on LGBT rights, she does not enjoy unanimous support among LGBT leaders and activists. The top candidates for mayor are vying for the LGBT constituency and many are boasting of their support of a range of issues important to the LGBT community. This makes for a complicated choice, and many LGBT voters care about issues beyond LGBT rights.