Mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, among the challengers looking to unseat incumbent Rahm Emanuel in the Feb 24 election, released an extensive platform documenting his positions on LGBT issues on Feb. 9.
Among those issues addressed in the platform are LGBT participation in city affairs; LGBT seniors, youth and veterans; HIV/AIDS; and challenges facing the transgender community.
In as statement preceding the platform, Garcia said, “I have been a steadfast supporter of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities throughout my 30 years of public life, even when it was not politically expedient. I will be a Mayor for all of Chicago, and the LGBTQ community will be an important part of my coalition.
“I strongly believe in full equality under the law for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. I support marriage equality as a Constitutional right. As an elected official, I was an early supporter of laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I also believe in aggressively enforcing the laws protecting LGBTQ rights.”
The statement said that Garcia’s administration would be sensitive to challenges faced by LGBT Chicagoans of color.
“I will work to make sure there is racial and ethnic diversity in my proposed revival of the Human Rights Advisory Councils and in all groups addressing issues facing LGBTQ people in the city. I also believe that the current administration has neglected people in the neighborhoods throughout Chicago, and I will work closely with LGBTQ advocates to make sure the needs of all members of this diverse community are met in all neighborhoods on all sides of the city,” he said.
Garcia pledges to seek out participation in civic affairs from the LGBT community as well as reinstating the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. He also says he will reinstate a liaison between the Mayor’s Office and the LGBT community. Both the council and liaison were eliminated under the Emanuel administration.
The needs of transgender individuals are also addressed. The platform proposes extensive training for Chicago Police Department officers on transgender issues as well as a municipal identification card that would refer to transgender residents by their preferred gender.
Garcia would direct the Chicago Housing Authority to release unused funding and resources to address the disproportionate number of homeless youths who are LGBT, and would support resources being made available through Chicago Public Schools.
Additionally, “I recognize that LGBTQ seniors face unique challenges, and I will work with the Chicago Housing Authority and community organizations to ensure that low-income housing is available for LGBTQ seniors,” Garcia said.
The platform calls for “a community approach” to HIV/AIDS, entailing comprehensive sex education as well as coordination between city and county health departments. It also pledges to engage city AIDS organizations and agencies.
Garcia also supports establishing a community center for LGBT veterans, according to the platform.
“My history with the LGBTQ community is a long one, going back to the mid-’80s, when I had the opportunity to get to know people in the community in a more holistic way, and develop new friendships and relationships and really heighten my awareness of the community and its existence throughout Chicagoland, including in the district I represented,” Garcia told Windy City Times. “… It’s been a great learning and growing opportunity, establishing relationships and getting to know the community, and it needs an aspiration.”
He added that, of the candidates in the current mayoral race, “I have the longest history, not in what I say about what I’ve done but in terms of action. I’ve been consistent in my understanding and engagement with this community. I’ve always been open to growing and learning.”