Delaware Stonewall

OBAMA CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL TO SPEAK AT DELAWARE STONEWALL EVENT

Delaware Stonewall, Delaware’s gay and lesbian Democratic Club, is pleased to announce that Tobias Wolff of Senator Obama's Presidential Campaign will be speaking at our Fifth Annual Summer Gathering on Saturday, July 26th, between 4:30 and 6:30 PM in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Mr. Wolff is the Chair of the Obama for America '08 LGBT Policy Committee and a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Prior to teaching, Professor Wolff was a litigator in New York and also served as a judicial clerk for Judges Betty Binns Fletcher and William Norris of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also worked as a civil rights attorney participating in gay rights cases across the country ranging from gay marriage and relationship rights in Alaska, California, Hawaii and Iowa and litigation involving the US Military's Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy in the First and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals.

"This is a truly exciting addition to our Annual Summer Gathering and an amazing opportunity for members of the LGBT community in Delaware to speak to a member of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Campaign," said Erik Painter, Executive Vice President of Delaware Stonewall. "Professor Wolff and this year's honorees exemplify all that it means to be an advocate for all citizens regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity." Painter, further added “Delaware Stonewall looks forward to working with our elected officials, allies, and friends to secure equal rights for all Delawareans. Progress has been made but there is much work to do to ensure that the members of the LGBT community are on an equal footing with the rest of society.”

The Club will be honoring Delaware State Representative Pete Schwartzkopf, New York State Senator Tom Duane, and former Army Doctor, Dr. Elizabeth Recupero, who was dismissed because of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Also being honored are Drew Fennell of Delaware ACLU, and National Stonewall Executive Director, Jon Hoadley.

For tickets, sponsorship opportunities, or information contact Daniel Meloy 302 227-2857, or reach us on line at www. delawarestonewall.org.

FIFTH ANNUAL SUMMER GATHERING

SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2008

4:30-6:30 PM

AT THE HOME OF DR. JAMES D’ORTA

123 SILVER LAKE DRIVE
REHOBOTH BEACH, DE

HONORING THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS
New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane
Delaware State Representative Peter C. Schwartzkopf
National Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats Jon Hoadley
Former Army Physician Dr. Elizabeth Recupero
Delaware Equal Rights Coalition Leader Drewry Fennell

Meet and mingle with Delaware elected officials, candidates for office, as well as representatives from Stonewall chapters in the region.

$40 -single ticket $65 -ticket and membership
$500, $250 and $125 sponsorships
(sponsors will be listed in program and ads)

Questions? Contact Daniel Meloy at 302-227-2857

Grand Benefactors
Dr. James D'Orta
Gary Colangelo and Gerald Duvall

Benefactors
Meyer Persow and Daniel Meloy
Markell for Governor
Michael Ward
Duane Litz

Patrons
Mitch Crane and John Workman
Scott Strickler and David Dagenais
George Christensen and Steve Kotrch
Lloyd Thoms, Jr.
Northington for Congress
Alexander Yearley
Patricia Magee
Dr. Nancy Maihoff
Ron Bass and George Robbins
Gene Reed for Insurance Commissioner
David Briggs

DELAWARE STONEWALL DEMS. ENDORSE MARKELL, DENN AND REED

Delaware Stonewall Democrats, on Apr. 26, endorsed three candidates in Delaware’s State races. The organization which represents gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Democrats in Delaware, and fights for equal rights for all, endorsed Jack Markell, for Governor, Matt Denn for Lieutenant Governor and Gene Reed for Insurance Commissioner

The organization based its endorsements on a number of criteria, including an understanding of our issues, a willingness to take some initiative in the passage of the non-discrimination legislation, and a history of working with our community, and a commitment to meet regularly with our community if elected.

“Jack Markell has been consistent in his support of equal rights for all, has often engaged in frank conversation with our community, and has shown a willingness to be actively involved in our struggles.” said Peter Schott, President of Stonewall. “We wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support him”, Schott said.

Schott indicated that his organization will also urge its members and allies to vote for Matt Denn, current Insurance Commissioner, who is now running for Lieutenant Governor, because he too, has worked continually with us to make sure that gays and lesbians were treated fairly by his Department. “Democrats are lucky to have two outstanding candidates, Denn and Ted Blunt, President of the Wilmington City Council, for the position of Lieutenant Governor, both of whom have shown they understand our issues, and both of whom are committed to change.”, Schott said, but the group felt that Denn’s comprehension of our issues showed he would be the best choice. The organization also pointed out that it appreciated the leadership that Blunt has taken in Wilmington in providing domestic partner benefits to its employees and hoped that such action would be duplicated on the State level.

Stonewall also endorsed Gene Reed for Denn’s current position, Insurance Commissioner, because Reed clearly articulated that he is willing to continue and expand on the policies of inclusiveness demonstrated by the current Insurance Commissioner.

New Castle County Reception and Candidate Meet and Greet

New Castle County Reception and Candidate Meet and Greet
Delaware Stonewall and the Progressive Democrats invite you to an afternoon reception to meet candidates running for national, state-wide, county-wide, and local offices.

Date: April 13
Time: 2pm-4pm
Location: 254 W. Chestnut Hill Road, Newark DE 19713

Guest Speaker - New Castle County Executive Chris Coons

Candidates Attending at this time:

Candidate for Re-Election, County Councilman John Cartier (D, 8th County Council District)
Candidate for Re-Elelction, State Representative John Kowalko (D, 25th District)
Candidate for Re-Election, State Representative Diana McWilliams (D, 6th District)
Candidate for Re-Election, State Representative Larry Mitchell (D, 13th District)
Candidate for State Representative, Earl Jacques (D, 27th District)
Candidate for State Senate, Bethany Hall-Long (D, 10th Senate District)
Candidate for Insurance Commissioner, Gene Reed
Candidate for U.S. Congress, Karen Hartley-Nagle
Candidate for Governor, John Carney
Candidate for Governor, Jack Markell
Candidate for Lt. Governor, Matt Denn

Continue to check the website for updates on the candidates and elected officials attending.

Light refreshments to be served.

Please foward to friends, family, neighbors, allies, colleagues, and political junkies!!

Please RSVP by April 5 to info@delawarestonewall.org or by calling John Quintus at 302-266-0610.

See you all there!

2008 Summer Gathering and Fundraiser

SAVE THE DATE!!!!

Delaware Stonewall Democrats will host their Annual Summer Gathering in Rehoboth Beach on Saturday, July 26! Continue to check the website for our honorees, guest speakers, and further details!

Delaware Stonewall Democrats' Membership Forum

2008 is shaping up to be an exciting year in Delaware politics!!!

Please join us for a General Membership Meeting and an open discussion on Saturday, January 26 and help us plan our agenda for this year. The meeting will be held at the Dover Century Club in Dover, DE starting at 2pm. The Board will be on hand to address Stonewall successes from 2007 and our vision for 2008 and beyond.

Please invite your friends, family members, colleagues and allies to attend and remember it is time to renew your membership!! You can renew via the website or send a check to:

Delaware Stonewall Democrats
P.O. Box 1024
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

Come find out why it is important that you become more involved and meet some of the candidates who want to help us move forward.

Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing info@delawarestonewall.org or calling 302-593-0945.

See you all there!

President: Peter Schott

Peter Schott is one of the founders of the Delaware Stonewall Democrats and served as its first Executive Vice President. A Democratic activist since the late 60's, he served in numerous elected and volunteer political positions throughout his career in Washington, DC. He was Chair of his Ward Democratic Committee, served on the Party's Executive Committee, and was twice elected a delegate to the National Democratic Convention. Peter worked for the US House of Representatives for 25 years, and served as a member of DC's Human Rights Commission. He was one of the founders of the National Stonewall Democrats. After retiring to Rehoboth he maintained his activism and has become a recognized face and force in local politics. He is a District 14 Democratic Chairman, and a member of the Sussex County Democrats Executive Committee, a member of the Coalition for Tolerance and Justice, Delaware Human Relations Commission Member and Governors Council on Equal Employment Opportunity. Peter most recently was appointed as the Sussex County Executive Committee's representative on the Delaware Democratic Party's State Executive Committee.

Executive Vice President: Erik Painter

Erik is a proud Delaware Native who has lived in New Castle County all of his life. He graduated in 1992 from Brandywine High School and then went on to earn a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Delaware. Erik currently works for Carlson Travel as an E-Commerce Supervisor. He has always been interested in politics ever since his unsuccessful candidacy for student council president at Hanby Junior High receiving a paltry 60 votes. He continued his political education assisting as a volunteer on the Democratic Party’s US Senate campaign of 1994 while in university. He served as a Kerry delegate to the Delaware Democratic Party's State Convention in 2004 when he became involved with Delaware Stonewall. Erik began with Stonewall helping to coordinate the activities of the organization in New Castle County and volunteering with the Diana McWilliams campaign. He then served two terms as the Vice President for Membership. Erik currently sits on the Democratic Party's Affirmative Action Committee for 2008 Delegate Selection to the National Convention. He is currently pursuing his Master of History degree part-time from Washington College in Chestertown, MD and hopes to graduate within the next decade! Erik lives in Newark, DE with his partner Erik Schramm

Vice President for Political Action: Mitch Crane

Mitch Crane served six years as a District Judge in Chester County, PA. The senior partner of the West Chester law firm Crane, Teti, Cox, Trott and Bishay, Judge Crane has been a practicing lawyer since graduating from Widener University School of Law in 1977. In addition to his juris doctorate, Mitch has an undergraduate degree in history and did his graduate work in psychology.

Mitch served ten years as a member of the West Chester, PA council including two as president.

Mitch is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and has served as a chapter counselor; alumni board president and is currently a District Governor and a member of the Board of Governors of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation. Judge Crane received the fraternity's highest alumni award - The Order of the Golden Heart in August, 2005. He is a member of the Association of Fraternal Advisors and recently chaired its Current Issues (Risk Management and Legal Issues) Committee.

]]> Mitch has taught English and political science at the secondary school level (while coaching track) and law at the graduate level.

Judge Crane has spoken on over 300 campuses, regional conferences and fraternity and sorority conventions on the subjects of risk management, hazing sexual assault and legal issues.

Vice President for Development: Betty Deacon

Betty retired in April 2006 to Lewes, DE. She served as the State Director to U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D, MD) for nine years. Prior to working with the Senator, Betty was the Chief of Staff to the President of the Baltimore City Council, Mary Pat Clarke for seven years. She has run various Democratic campaigns including Congressional, City Council, and was the Field Director for a State House seat in Maryland. Betty served just recently as the Sussex County Coordinator before accepting the VP of Development position.

Vice President of Membership: Scott Strickler

Scott was born and raised in Washington state. He bagan his 30-year-long career with the Federal government as a staff attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor in Dallas, TX, and ended it with the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Occupational Safetey and Health Review Commisssion, in Washington D.C. Since retiring in January 2002, he has lived near Milton, DE with his partner of 28 years, David Dagenais, and their dog, Skippy. Scott was politically active througout his junion high school, high school an college but basically dormant throughout his years as a Hatch Act-restrained civil servant. Upon retiring, he joined the Delaware Stonewall Democrats. He has served as Secretary for the 36th Representative District since June 2004 and represented his Election District (7-36) on the District Committee and the Sussex County Democratic Executive Committee since June 2006. He is also active in the Rehoboth Beach Film Society and in two churches, singing with the Gospel Choir at MCC Washington and teaching Bible study at Epworth UMC in Rehoboth Beach.

Treasurer: Larry Hooker

Larry Hooker moved to Rehoboth Beach in 1996 after many years in the corporate world. He has experience in both public and corporate accounting including serving as vice president of a large privately held company in Rockville, MD before moving to Delaware. In 1996 he started his own tax and accounting practice in Rehoboth. He also has served on several non-profit boards. He is a graduate of Miami University and is a CPA.

Secretary: Larry Peterson

Larry Peterson lives in Newark with his partner Richard Young. He has been a university professor or administrator at UD since 1980. Before that he was a professor at Vanderbilt University, George Peabody College and Jersey City University. Originally from Kansas but because of the Air Force or academic positions Larry has lived in Montana, California, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee and with extended Air Force assignments to Guam and Okinawa where he received an Air Force Accommodation Medal.

At the University of Delaware Larry teaches music courses, administers the University’s GLBT lecture series, co-chaired the task force that designed a new minor in GLBT studies and develops multimedia lessons for the teaching of opera.

Larry was founding member of the board of directors for the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware and functioned as their Vice-President for Development for several years. He was the chair of the Bingo-A-Go-Go committee for four years. Larry currently belongs to the following organizations” American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He loves to travel, having been a student in Paris, France (1971), a visiting lecturer in England (1994), and has taken university courses in France (1987) and Italy (2006).

New Castle County Coordinator: John Quintus

John Allen Quintuswas born in Washington, DC in 1943. He grew up in Arlington, Virginia, where he attended Washington-Lee High School. Mr. Quintus is an Honors graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill. He holds masters degrees from Harvard University and the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware.

Mr. Quintus entered the Foreign Service in 1980 after having taught at George Mason University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Delaware. He was posted to Canberra, Bonn, Mauritius, Toronto, Yerevan, Belgrade, Leipzig, and Vienna. He was instrumental in creating the German-American Dialogue Center in Magdeburg, and founded the Vienna Initiative for Central Asia, an Austro-American training program for city managers from Central Asia. During his career in the Foreign Service, Mr. Quintus earned a Superior Performance Award, three Meritorious Honor Awards and two Meritorious Pay Increases, and a Career Achievement Award..

Mr. Quintus has published several articles on British and American literature, U.S. Naval history, and education. He has taught at the University of Delaware after retiring from the State Department in 2005.

Kent County Coordinator: Steve Kotrch

Steve Kotrch and George Christensen (former Kent County Coordinator), his partner of 25+ years, moved to Dover in 2001 from Springfield, Virginia. Steve is a native Michgander and retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of active duty. After his retirement, Steve held many different jobs with various government contractors in the Washington D.C. area. Upon relocating to Delaware, Steve "retired." He is a public member on the Board of Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers. In his spare time Steve and Buddy, the beagle, spend every Tuesday evening visting a local senior residents home where Buddy gets overindulged in affection. Steve is affectionately known as "Step Fairy Father" to George's three children and Grandpa Steve to five grandchildren.