Sunday, November 29, 2009, 11:13 PM
News, Opinion, Politics
By Stephanie Ramage

THE DAY MARY NORWOOD WALKED OUT ON THE GAY COMMUNITY

It doesn’t matter what you say you believe in. If you are an elected legislator whether in the Georgia General Assembly or on the Atlanta City Council, what matters is how you vote, and when the Atlanta City Council was called to vote for a measure that would have recognized domestic partnerships for the purpose of certain benefits, City Councilwoman Mary Norwood took a walk.

It was March 20, 2006 when Norwood voted on a piece of legislation just prior to the domestic partnership measure and another just after it, and yet she got up and walked away during the vote on domestic partnerships. She was there just before, and she was there just after, but she somehow missed that vote on domestic partnerships. That's called walking away.

Saying that the measure was part of a consent agenda is no excuse. Consent agendas, for those who do not know, are bundles of various legislation that has been reviewed several times before it gets bundled, so Norwood—unless she’s going to hide behind her old stand-by of “I didn’t know” once again—would have had to know that the domestic partnership measure was in that consent agenda.

So which is it? Is she a mayoral candidate who lacks conviction and displayed cowardice in walking away on this critical vote? Or, is she an easily distracted and unconcerned mayoral candidate who walked away because she didn’t know any better?

My name is Dorsey Norwood. I’m not a political activist or anything of the sort. (I generally follow the news just enough to know what’s going on and stay moderately informed.)

I’m a local pediatrician who has lived a rather quiet life with my partner Melody Durrenberger at our home in the Collier Hills neighborhood of Atlanta. But that’s before my step-mom decided to run for Mayor of Atlanta.

I have always known whom I’d be voting for in this election. But, like you, I’ve seen the TV ads and I’ve gotten the mail pieces that say all kinds of things about Mary and her opponent. So I wanted to tell you a little truth about Mary and why I couldn’t be more thrilled to support her in this election.

Mary has always supported me. In a recent Southern Voice article, where Mary is quoted as saying that her response to my coming out was that it was “grand,” she wasn’t lying. I was so relieved that Mary was so accepting of me. She has continued that acceptance and love over the years. Recently, she has welcomed my partner Melody into our family.

You should know that Mary has served on the Atlanta City Council for eight years. But she’s been a neighborhood activist since I was a young girl (we’ll just say that’s been a few years and leave it at that). She’s been working to combat homelessness and those eyesore “McMansions,” support our police and firefighters (it’s why they’ve endorsed her candidacy) and make our neighborhoods more safe and livable.

My step-mom is anything but status quo. She’s had the courage to butt heads with folks in the city her entire life while trying to make Atlanta work for everyone. She’s done a pretty good job considering how so many folks have continued to put up roadblocks to her work for our neighborhoods. I know as mayor, she’ll finally be in a position to clean up our city and make many of the changes she’s fought so hard for so long to make as a neighborhood activist and council member.

In this campaign to help elect my step-mom as mayor, I’ve met some pretty terrific people from across the city and every corner of our community who support Mary.

People like AID Atlanta Executive Director Tracy Elliott, who told me about how my mother was the only member of the City Council who was willing to help make sure the AIDS Walk continued and when the city’s program for low income persons living with HIV and AIDS was threatened, how she stood up and fought for continued funding.

People like Ken Britt, who serves on the board of the Human Rights Campaign, who supports my mom because he shares my belief that Mary is the only candidate who can bring our city together – black and white, north and south, gay and straight – to move progressive policies forward, including policies to improve my life and the life of my LGBT friends and neighbors.

People like Kyle Bailey, who is volunteering for my mom’s campaign full-time because he knows how much Mary loves our city, will make it better and because he trusts her to be a strong voice for equality for everybody, including support for gay marriage.

People like Lawrie Demorest and Lee Kyser who have two young children and who are concerned about the safety of our neighborhoods, the quality of our life in our city and yes, the right to marry and have all the benefits and responsibilities that come with it, most importantly, to protect their children.

It’s true that Mary is the only candidate in this race who supports gay marriage. It’s also true that her opponent is opposed to having my relationship with Melody—and the relationships of all gay couples—treated just as equally as my mom and dad’s relationship. Her opponent claims to favor civil unions on religious grounds.

I did my homework and found that my step-mom was one of the largest donors to efforts to defeat California’s anti-gay Prop 8 in 2008. I can’t say I was too surprised, as she’s been speaking to our community and speaking out for our equity for years. It’s why she’s been in the Atlanta Pride parade every year inviting my father and me to join her. She has been in our homes talking to us about issues that face our city and how our city government impacts the lives of regular LGBT people like Melody and me.

Just like Mary has always been there for me, she’s always been there for all of us—working for our dignity, our families, our neighborhoods and our equality. I know as mayor, she’ll continue this fight and we’ll be a better, safer and more equitable Atlanta because of it.

Thank you Mary for being our candidate for change in this election. We need it.

Omg
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 1:56 PM

Dorsey,

Thank you for writing but, if anything, your comment only underlines the fact that your step-mother, Mary Norwood, missed a vote that was important not only to Atlanta in general but to someone in her immediate family.
It seems to me if my stepdaughter were in a longterm partnership I would be even more anxious to make sure that legislation passed. I'd be extra sure to vote on it.
But she didn't. She walked away during that vote.
As I've said before, Mary is a very nice person, but it's the vote that counts. Whatever kind things she says, and I've no reason to doubt she meant the things she said to you, the reason that people elected her to council was so she would vote on issues, not merely say nice things.

Stephanie Ramage
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 3:14 PM