Antonio Pagán, 1st gay Latino NYC Councilmember, dead at age 50

I must have met the man more than a few times but, for the life of me, I can't remember a single encounter. I wasn't living in New York when he became the first openly gay Latino man to be elected to the New York City Council in 1991, but I certainly was involved in city politics by the time he left the Council in 1997, and had become well-aware of his notorious reputation.

Last week his name crossed my mind as in "Whatever happened to..." Now comes word that Antonio Pagán (right) died on Sunday at the age of 50 at Beth Israel Medical Center of a heart attack.

You might think that the Latino LGBT community would be mourning his loss and declaring him the Harvey Milk of our generation but let's say that: 1) Aside from past articles archived at The New York Times there is little online material to make others aware of his historic run for office (I mean, was he the first openly gay Latino to be elected to political office in the United States?); and 2) Hm, how can I put this gently? By all accounts he was a brilliant man but also an asshole who held petty grudges against enemies and pushed policies that were an anathema to the people he represented (not that I can't think of a few people in political office that fit that description).

Paul DeRienzo put it best when he wrote the following in response to a NY Times' City Room blog report on Pagán's passing:

Antonio Pagan was a brilliant man, but also a petty and personally vindictive one who did not embody the values of the majority of residents of the Lower East Side. He was an advocate for landlords and big business and a close associate of Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Pagan’s decisions closed community gardens, community centers and evicted residents, while driving up rents in what is still fundamentally a poor and struggling neighborhood. He was also directly involved in instigating a police riot in Tompkins Square Park on August 6th, 1988 that caused hundreds of injuries to local residents. That riot happened because Mr. Pagan and others made decisions about the rights of homeless people living in the park in secret, while conspiring with police officials behind the back of the community. Mr. Pagan will not be missed as a political leader in our neighborhood, but most feel sorrow that a young man should be cut down in his prime. My condolences to his family, but to all the poor people who suffered because of Mr. Pagan’s desire to have as he once said "my piece of the rock,” they deserve condolence as well.

At that site, some defend him but most are vitriolic in the hate they spew against Pagán (he would probably rejoice in the fact that his actions still bring so much venom a decade after his City Council stint).

As for the cause of death: There is some online chatter that Pagán might have died after a longtime battle with HIV/AIDS which certainly is pure speculation at this point in time. But if that is the case, and those close to him are uncomfortable with disclosing his HIV status, what does that say about a man who was among the founding board members of the still-existing nonprofit organization Hispanic AIDS Forum? Or - if it is true that he had been battling HIV/AIDS - was it his personal wish that if he died others would not find out that he was HIV positive?

If that is the case, it certainly honors Pagán's conflicting personae, but it also speaks to how in a certain segments of the Latino community - even among openly gay folk - AIDS is still silenced.

Interestingly, since Pagán was elected to the City Council representing the Lower East Side of Manhattan, his successors have also been of Puerto Rican descent and openly gay. First came Margarita López who held the seat from 1998 to 2005 before she sought higher office when term limits came into effect, followed by Rosie Méndez who currently holds the seat.

Related:

• Antonio Pagán 1959-2009 (Village Voice Runnin' Scared Blog, Jan. 27, 2009)
• Antonio Pagán: R.I.P. (The Neighborhood Retail Alliance, Jan. 27, 2009)
• The Blackwell City Reader (Excerpt, Google Books, Published in 2002)
• Re-Representing the City (Excerpt, Google Books, Published in 1996)
• Orthodoxy vs. Whitman, Pagán (Excerpt, Google Books, New York Magazine, Sept. 6. 1993)

Margarita Lopez on Bloomberg, Ferrer and her campaign

On Wednesday I wrote about a meeting taking place last night at the LGBT Community Services Center and hosted by Latino Gay Men of New York, one of the oldest Latino gay organizations in the country. The topic was city politics and the invited guests were members of the Out People of Color Political Action Club (OutPOCPAC) - of which I am a proud member - and former Manhattan Borough President candidates Margarita Lopez and Brian Ellner. OutPOCPAC was the first LGBT political club to endorse Fernando Ferrer during the primaries; both Brian and Margarita had recently announced that they were endorsing current Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Considering the amount of flak that has been directed at both Margarita and Brian for endorsing a Mayor who has appealed a decision granting marriage rights to same-sex couples in New York; vetoed the Equal Benefits Bill which would require that businesses with a budget of $100,000 and above provide insurance to same-sex partners of their employees if they also do for heterosexual couples; and vetoed the Dignity for All Students Act, which would require schools to monitor harrassment against youth who are or appear to be gay, I was a little skeptical that either of them would accept the invitation.

So give Margarita credit for showing up: During almost an hour, she spoke about the mayoral race, her Bloomberg endorsement, her relationship with Ferrer, her thoughts on proposition 1 and proposition 2 and recent news of an ongoing battle between Margarita and the Campaign Finance Board. Alas, it was off the record and I cannot give details of the conversation.

What I will say is that members of the group, though respectful, were not necessarily receptive to the reasons she gave for endorsing Bloomberg.

I do know that - as this is the last City Council term for Margarita - we are losing a progressive representative who staunchly fought for the improvement of the Lower East Side, which she represented; who sought and got increaced funding for HIV prevention services; who was instrumental in quickly mobilizing the city council to approve emergency funds for crystal meth use awareness and prevention for gay men in this city; and stood up to other members in the city council who did not move quickly to censure the sexual misconduct of one of its members.

Personally, I was grateful for her support in the work I have done on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples. On March 4th, 2004, as news of the Massachussetts decision allowing same-sex couples to marry began to have a national impact, Margarita joined us for a Latinos Against a Constitutional Amendment press conference at City Hall. Aware that some Latino political leaders might be weary of advocating for the issue, we were asking them to support marriage rights or, if they were not able to, at least to denounce President Bush's intent to push an amendment to the constitution (I believe it was the first Latino specific response in the country). Well, Margarita not only vouchered for the right to marry but pushed powerful New York State Assemblymember Peter Rivera from the Bronx (chair of the statewide legislative Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force) to also take a stand in favor of same-sex marriage.

I still remember how she took over the press conference and announced that she would be seeking a City Council appointment as a "marriage officer" that same day and, if granted, pledged to start officiating weddings. Then she proceeded to lead speakers, on-lookers and press to the City Council offices where nobody knew what do do with her request.

So, while I know that certain friends are hurt and surprised that Margarita might have endorsed Mike Bloomberg, it is hard for me to feel angry with her when she got such a raw deal during her failed campaign for Manhattan Borough President and when her work as a City Council member will leave lasting benefits for the community in general.

The one thing I regreted last night is that, although she did take some hard questions from group members and responded just as candidly, she did not stay to hear the other side argue their reasons to support Fernando Ferrer.

Political Updates - You Get to Dance Salsa Too and a Book on Bloomberg

More local politics, please don't yawn!

Salsa Al: Those Ferrer camp salsa dancing ads, while not heavy on content, have been fun to watch. Particularly that Al Sharpton one.

Well, now it's YOUR turn to send the Ferrer campaign your own salsa dancing videos (actually it can be any type of music you like to dance to) by sending your mpegs to: info@ferrer2005.com - Aparently they will be posting the best ones on the Ferrer campaign website. Do it fast, though, kiddies, elections are next week!

Buddies: Unfortunately, any good-will that the ads might have elicited got eclipsed by the release of a totally different ad called "Buddies" on the same day, which the New York Post trumpeted up on its first page by implying that it featured a cartoon Bloomberg giving a cartoon handjob to a cartoon George W. Bush (!) which the Bloomberg campaign immediately called 'disgusting' (even if the actual ad doesn't show anything close to that).

I did think that the ad crossed a line and I did send it out to a couple of friends to see if it striked them as a bit, um, problematic, not to say homophobic, but they both thought it was a funny take on the Jib Jab ads that ran during the Bush-Kerry race but that was about it. I almost blogged about my feelings about the ad but let it go. Well, the Post cover page story came out the next day. Must mean I'm thinking along the lines of the editors at the New York Post (and that's kinda scary!).

Catch up to the visitors from Puerto Rico: As for the LGBT Puerto Rican contingent for Ferrer? Well, they will be here this weekend. You have a chance to meet them as they campaign for openly lesbian Democratic councilmember nominee Rosie Mendez (running to gain the District 2 seat vacated by Margarita Lopez) on Saturday morning at 11:30am in the Lower East Side. Fernando Ferrer will join them a little later. Interested? Call Rosie Mendez' campaign office for more info: (212) 677-1077.

The Book on Bloomberg: Finally, for local political wonks, there has always been a rumor of a strategy book used by Mark Green to attack Bloomberg in his failed 2001 mayoral campaign. Well, rejoice! Now, thanks to The Politicker, you can also get a hold on an actual copy!

Margarita Lopez, Brian Ellner at LGMNY's First Friday Forum?

Should all the invited speakers show up at this Friday's Latino Gay Men of New York forum (they hold forums on the first Friday of the month at the NYC LGBT Community Services Center), it should certainly prove to be an interesting night. The night's topic is "Political Education on the Mayoral Election & Issues Important to the Latino LGBT Community" and the focus is the current mayoral race. Invited guests include Out People of Color Political Action Club co-presidents Doug Robinson and Gerard Cabrera on the pro-Ferrer side and openly gay former Manhattan Borough President candidates Brian Ellner and Margarita Lopez on the pro-Bloomberg side.

Both Brian and Margarita have drawn tremendous flak from LGBT advocates for endoorsing Mike Bloomberg despite his record on LGBT rights and I am not so sure they would want to participate in a forum like this just before the election. Nevertheless, I hope they do show up and honor the request from one of the oldest Latino gay organizations in the city.

By the way, the political forum, which is set to start at 8pm, will be followed by a holistic health workshop at 9pm. Just in case the speakers need it afterwards. I'm just saying...

What they do to gay politicians who support Mayor Bloomberg

The Politicker, recently named the best political blog by both the Village Voice AND the New York Press in their annual "Best of New York 2005" issues, floated a twin rumor a couple of weeks ago that former (and openly gay) Manhattan Borough President candidates Margarita Lopez and Brian Ellner were on the verge of endorsing Michael Bloomberg.

Brian's endorsement of Bloomberg (and announcement that he would be working for the Bloomberg campaign) came yesterday. Today, it was Margarita's turn.

Some in the NYC LGBT political world are apoplectic about their moves and the digitally re-touched campaign flyer above made enough rounds to be picked up in a story that runs in today's New York Post (which loves to see gays get all apoplectic and stuff).

I am sure that Brian Ellner, a smart and charismatic guy who might have ran for Manhattan Borough President too soon in a multi-candidate field, has his reasons to go for Bloomberg and he is entitled to them. As for Margarita, it was no secret that - of the Democratic City Council members - she undoubtedly had a close relationship with Bloomberg even before she announced her run for Manhattan Borough President. The fact that Fernando Ferrer did not ultimately endorse Margarita (and in fact was seen hanging out with another Latino Manhattan Borough President candidate, Adriano Espaillat), must have hurt deeply.

I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about Mike Bloomberg and gay issues and I told him that, while I disagreed with his stand on many of them, I did not think he was a homophobe. Which is why I dislike the kind of mud-slinging (including image above) that characterizes some exchanges in the NYC LGBT political community.

Brian and Margarita have made a desision and they are entitled to it. I still think that Ferrer will be better than Bloomberg on LGBT issues, part of why I am voting for him. But I also think there is room to allow these two community leaders to form their own opininion and go with Bloomberg.

UPDATE: Here is Gay City News' take on the endorsements which was just posted on their website.