Rivals vie for support of gays

As the annual gay pride parade takes place today, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Deval L. Patrick and Christopher F. Gabrieli are battling for support among gays and lesbians in the first statewide campaign since the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Patrick wowed many in the gay community last year with his outspoken support of gay marriage, drawing many gay voters to support him over the only other Democrat in the race at the time, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly.

But Gabrieli complicated the picture when he joined the race in April. As the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2002, Gabrieli was one of the first statewide candidates to support same-sex marriage. Now, he says he is making a concerted effort to attract gay supporters.

Most gay activists say that Gabrieli has his work cut out for him. Bay Windows, the largest gay and lesbian newspaper in New England, recently wrote that Patrick ``has so many gays behind him he could hold his own pride parade." But the newspaper's editor, Susan Ryan-Vollmar, said this week that Gabrieli still has a chance to make inroads.

``I don't think Deval has it by any means locked up," Ryan-Vollmar said. ``I think Deval has key people locked up. But when you look at the two candidates, both are terrific for people voting solely on gay issues. . . . And I don't know that many people who vote solely on gay issues."

Patrick plans to march in the parade today with a large contingent of supporters. Gabrieli's campaign said he plans to greet marchers before and after the parade with about 30 supporters, but will not be able to march in the parade because of other commitments. Reilly may stop by, his campaign said yesterday. He did not attend last year, saying he had to attend his grandchild's christening.

Reilly, after initially opposing same-sex marriage, declared his support for it last year. But many in the gay community are furious with Reilly for using a 1913 state law to block out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts and for certifying a 2008 ballot question that would ban gay matrimony. Reilly has said that he was upholding his responsibilities under the law.

``The campaign is actively seeking the support of the gay and lesbian community and will continue to do so," Reilly spokesman Corey Welford said yesterday.

The Republican nominee for governor, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, opposes gay marriage, but supports civil unions. Christy Mihos, running an independent campaign, supports gay marriage, as does Green Rainbow Party candidate Grace Ross. Ross plans to attend today's parade.

Gay and lesbian voters could be an important factor in both the primary and the general election this year. Advocates say the marriage issue politicized the gay community in Massachusetts to an unprecedented degree in the 2004 elections, with dramatic results: Every legislator who supported same-sex marriage and faced a gay marriage opponent that year won reelection.

``People now hold fund-raisers; they give to candidates," said Marc Solomon, campaign director of MassEquality, one of state's largest groups supporting same-sex marriage. ``I was amazed last weekend in Worcester [at the state Democratic convention] how many delegates got involved in politics through the marriage movement."

Patrick's early outreach to key activists helped win endorsements. In January, he won the backing of the 12,000-member Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts, which held a fund-raiser that raised tens of thousands of dollars for him in April.

Also behind Patrick are well-known gay elected officials, including US Representative Barney Frank, state Representative Elizabeth A. Malia, state Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, and Kenneth E. Reeves, the first openly gay black mayor of Cambridge. A number of visible gay activists are also backing him, including MassEquality board members Elyse Cherry and Arline Isaacson.

In addition to Patrick's early support for gay marriage, gay advocates interviewed for this report said Patrick's experience heading the civil rights division of the Clinton Justice Department, and the fact that he is African-American, helped him among the constituency.

``He understands what discrimination is all about," said Kevin Batt, a Cambridge lawyer who has been involved in the gay marriage litigation. ``He's reached out to the African-American communities, and to the extent they were more conservative on that issue, he stood fast to support gays and lesbians."

``All my gay friends [are supporting Patrick], bar none," said Fred Rich, a Democratic legislative aide and longtime member of the Bay State Stonewall Democrats. ``I think Gabrieli has a pretty good record on gay issues from what I hear, but . . . he's coming to the game late."

Mary Breslauer, a veteran gay activist and communications consultant, said Gabrieli hosted a fund-raiser at his Beacon Hill home last year for MassEquality -- the cocktail party was the first benefit hosted by a straight supporter of same-sex marriage, Solomon said -- and worked behind the scenes, persuading lawmakers to embrace the decision.

``He's really put elbow grease into this," Breslauer said.

Gabrieli has attracted his own line-up of gay supporters, who in addition to Breslauer include Peter Flynn, a lawyer active in gay issues, Joe DeMedeiros, a gay city councilor from New Bedford, and Ronald Ansin, a developer and philanthropist.

Later this month, a former Patrick supporter will hold a Gabrieli meet-and-greet for gay and lesbian voters in the South End. Mark Walsh, an event planner, said that after a great deal of ``soul-searching" this spring, he switched sides. Gabrieli, he said, combined unwavering support for gay issues with experience creating jobs and an openness to lowering taxes, which Walsh believed would appeal to independent voters.

``Now it's time for him to get his word out there," he said. ``A lot of people have not heard Chris speak."

Gabrieli's campaign has contacted Bay Windows for an editorial board meeting. Earlier this week, he sent a letter to the editor to newspapers across the state denouncing President Bush's constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage .