 a year and that simply is not acceptable. Nobody should get rich on the backs of taxpayers.
The second thing I would do is call a Special Session of the Legislature to pass legislation I would call “Louisiana First.” This would specifically focus on cleaning up our budget and restoring funding to Education and Healthcare. This would also pass on the savings in action #1 has garnered and then challenge the legislators to do the same. As part of Louisiana First, we would refocus our efforts as a state, not looking outside to attract new business and instead focusing on helping existing business grow and thrive. This would be accomplished by installing policies such as payroll tax holiday periods for all new jobs created, and we would fund this by eliminating funding that is designed to attract new businesses to our state. Existing business owners in our state deserve some focus and help. I would also be on the floor working arm-in-arm with the Legislators to pass this.
The third thing I would do is sign an Executive Order stating clearly that each and every department of this state, and by default any contractor or public body who receives funding from the state, must employ a very strict Anti-Discrimination & Harassment policy that specifically includes Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression. I would charge the Labor Board with overseeing this and make sure that that Board is meeting regularly and is fairly considering the cases it is to hear. This would be backed up with HB 1 and SB 1 in each and every legislative session (until it is passed) being a “WORKERS RIGHTS” bill. This would include the above provisions to codify into law, and include protections for workers who want to organize in their workplace and enact tougher worker safety programs and mandates on business.
Lamar: Who are your heroes in Louisiana?
State Senator “Butch” Gautreaux. Butch has not been one to fight for the headlines, but has kept himself focused on making Louisiana a better place for its citizens. Through focusing on the budget of the state, he has done his best to make sure we remain focused on the future and that promises we have made are promises we will keep. This can be seen in his fight this last session to resist the governors attempt to sell off just about every asset this state has.
Zack Kopplin. He is the young man who this past session lead the effort with Senator Karen Carter-Peterson to repeal the “creationism law” here in the state. I have been able to meet Zack now several times, and I am just inspired by this guy. The fight and the sense of right and wrong in him and in others in his age group. I can’t tell you how inspired I am.
Brad Pitt. He has done so much by focusing his time, fame, and effort on storm recovery from Katrina. I am just in awe of this. He also donated significantly to the fight for Marriage Equality in California. Perhaps he will begin investing in equality here in Louisiana as well? We can hope.
Representatives Patti Smith and Michael Jackson. Both of these legislators took to the floor of the State House and made passionate speeches for passing HB112 this past session. They argued that LGBT kids need the protections and why it was so important to pass the bill. They even called out their peers for NOT supporting this and their bias against gay folks. Great work!
Lamar: Relatedly, who is the greatest living Louisianan?
Stephen: I don’t think that I can answer this question. I certainly think that there are people in the running for this – such as Donna Brazile (first vice chair of the DNC and former campaign Manager for Al Gore). She would be near the top on my list. The amount of work she has done to protect voter’s rights as well as her willingness to stand up on difficult issues has always inspired me.
I also think Governor Kathleen Blanco is near the top on this as well. Remember whatever you want about this Governor; the fact is, before the storms (which will likely forever define her time in the Governor’s mansion), she worked tirelessly to improve our education system in this state. She did quite an amazing job at that. Too bad many, not all, of her reforms and improvement were knee-capped by our new Governor.
Finally, I think Lindy Boggs should be on this list as well. Congresswoman-turned-Ambassador Boggs did so much for women in this State. In fact, I don’t believe there could have been a Governor Blanco or a US Senator Mary Landrieu without there first being a Congresswoman Lindy Boggs. She remains an inspiration to many of us for all the barriers that she broke down. Many discounted her early on as she assumed the position in Congress after the death of her husband. She went on to continue winning her seat over and over again until she retired.
Lamar: Do you think Louisiana will elect or could elect an openly gay candidate for Congress or statewide office?
Stephen: YES!  They both happen to be on the School Board in New Orleans, and both seem to be set to be re-elected.
Polling data on this issue has drastically changed in the thirteen plus years that I have lived in this state. That is certainly inspiring. I think this person is going to have to be prepared to be bold and be ready to take on the issues. ONE MISTAKE and it will be over for him/her; so that is a LOT of pressure. The good news here is in order for there to be a first, many need to come before to prepare the ground to be fertile for his/her candidacy. I hope that is what I am doing.
The interesting thing is over eight years ago when I started putting myself “out there” doing radio, television and writing political columns, I insisted that I was the “Guy on the LEFT” or “the Democrat.” I didn’t present myself as the “GAY GUY.” That is important, I think, because I didn’t want all of my opinions to be immediately dismissed because “I was gay,” much like women’s opinions were summarily dismissed less than a century ago.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with Congressman Barney Frank. Frank was the first openly gay member of Congress to be re-elected (several times over now), and while he of course has his political shortcomings, he is and will always be an inspiration to me. We were both at meetings in Dallas about seven years ago, and we frequently were running into each other.
I think that the fact that I am gay is simply the least interesting thing about me. However, being gay is the MOST important thing for me politically. This remains true, simply because I don’t want it to be as difficult as it was when I was a child for the kids that are coming up now.
Lamar: What’s your favorite place in Louisiana?
Stephen: My home. At least on the property that my partner and I own, I know I am fully equal. My partner and I could be fired from our jobs; we could be denied access to each other at the hospital; we could be forced to pay more for health insurance; we could be targeted just for who we are by those wishing us harm. But in our house, we are equal.
We have equality, and we don’t have to worry about those other things. Though we still face discrimination and our neighbors didn’t at first know how to contend with us. it has gotten better. I think they have realized that we are just as boring as they are. We just look better doing it. HA!
Next What is the American Way?
Excellent interview, and series. Loved the questions here, but wouldn’t’ve minded one about the Moratorium “hoax”, since Handwerk was all over this, early and persuasively.A Times' "Book of the Week"
Sixteenth-century Europe was a hostile world dominated by court politics and patriarchal structures, and yet against all odds, two women rose to power: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. One a young Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a more experienced and clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these shrewd and strategic sovereigns. But though their individual legacies have been heavily scrutinized, nothing has been said of their complicated relationship—thirty years of camaraderie, competition, and conflict that forever changed the face of Europe.
In Blood, Fire, and Gold, historian Estelle Paranque offers a new way of looking at two of history’s most powerful women: through the eyes of the other. Drawing on their private correspondence and brand-new research, Paranque shows how Elizabeth and Catherine navigated through uncharted waters that both united and divided their kingdoms, maneuvering between opposing political, religious, and social objectives—all while maintaining unprecedented power over their respective domains. Though different in myriad ways, their fates and lives remained intertwined of the course of three decades, even as the European geo-politics repeatedly set them against one another. Whether engaged in bloody battles or peaceful accords, Elizabeth and Catherine admired the force and resilience of the other, while never forgetting that they were, first and foremost, each other’s true rival.
This is a story of two remarkable visionaries: a story of blood, fire, and gold. It is also a tale of ceaseless calculation, of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom, and—above all else—of the courage and sacrifice it takes to secure and sustain power as a woman in a male-dominated world.
"A story told with verve and passion... a marvelous story of a relationship between two powerful women in an age when