As I mentioned earlier, I was at the Gay Pride event this weekend, and I marched for Kirsten Gillibrand. I actually wore a shirt and stickers. I noticed, while I took photos, a banner for Luke Martland for NY State Senate. I wasn’t sure who he was, but wanted to find out. So, I was happy when a woman stopped my group to talk about him a bit. It was nice because I recognized her from the bus I ride to work each morning (state employee shuttle), so that was a good sign. I signed up for email updates on the campaign. I also met Mr. Martland, and though I was not able to engage him in a discussion about his stance during the event, I was able to sign his petition for candidacy at the NYS Democratic Primary.
This morning I received my first email regarding the campaign. As I read the summary of his involvement in the Gay Pride event, I learned that Mr. Martland is gay himself. If elected he would be one of two gay senators for New York, the other being a NYC representative. He also published his web page, as I would expect, for further research on his stance and promises. I tend to look at these with a grain of salt, because many times they are so vague that they can be twisted to mean something else. So, I looked for something more, especially where he stands with this whole budget debacle.
I found an interview that he did that was posted on The Albany Project. He talks details of what he would do to resolve the furlough issue, which is now a moot point, but it is interesting what he talked about as a resolution, rather than simply saying it shouldn’t be done.
Mr. Martland is challenging Neil Breslin for the Democratic nomination for NY State Senate. *NOTE: This is NOT for US Senate. That’s Kirsten Gillibrand who took over for Hillary Clinton – there was some confusion on Sunday.
I will let you read his information for yourselves, and make your decisions accordingly. Please voice your opinion. I would like to be able to find answers to questions that I have not yet thought of, and that’s where readers come to play. I will add more links as I find them throughout the day/week, etc.
Here is where you can find out more information on Luke Martland’s campaign.
It was good to read his story after the fact – I’d known nothing about him until Libby Post had mentioned he was openly gay.
Also, kudos on the new layout for the blog! I’m lovin’ it.
Hi Kari -
I have been following Luke Martland’s campaign for Senate for some time now. I would love an opportunity to chat with you on my take of things! I work at the ESP and would be happy to meet for coffee if you’d be interested. And go Gillibrand!
I met Luke Martland during Pride on Sunday. I stopped by his table because I was curious about him and had a short chat with him. He seemed really passionate about lgbt issues, so finding out that he’s gay himself makes perfect sense, now. That’s really great that there’s finally a possibility of electing another openly gay state senator. The only other is Tom Duane (as far as I know) and overall he’s been a great advocate. But I was also kind of disappointed in him last year – the speech he gave on gay marriage on the Senate floor made no sense!
BrMo: I think you’re too lenient on Duane. He’s been pretty much a disaster. Neither he nor the current Democratic leadership has produced results: GENDA last week, marriage equality last year. Libby Post – God bless her for what she’s done for the community – is already out there dividing our community portraying Breslin as the better choice. A good choice? Absolutely. A better choice? Certainly not. It’s party politics on her part and good for Breslin & the status quo but ultimately self-defeating for the community. Now, I don’t expect for a second ESP or any of the big orgs to endorse Martland – because, after all, that would require some backbone and to ruffle some feathers. The only org that I still have respect for is GetEQUAL – but I’m not holding my breath regarding any of the big orgs like HRC, Victory Fund, or ESP, anymore.