~ by joel martens ~
Equality California (EQCA) is the nation’s largest statewide civil rights organization. Its nearly 800,000 members work to bring the voices of LGBTQ people and our allies into the institutions and power centers throughout California and across the United States. They do this by “electing pro-equality leaders, passing pro-equality legislation in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., by fighting for LGBTQ civil rights and social justice in the courtroom and by reducing disparities in LGBTQ health and well-being through education and advocacy.”
Celebrating our successes and those leaders who have taken up the fight for equality is part of their mission and on Friday, June, 14 they will recognize those who do so at the San Diego Equality Awards. 2019’s honorees include: San Diego singer/songwriter Jason Mraz for the Ally Leadership Award, Planned Parenthood’s Nora E. Vargas for the Community Leadership Award and the Honorable Todd Gloria as the Vanguard Leadership Awardee.
We wanted to know more, so the Honorable Todd Gloria was kind enough to sit down with The Rage Monthly to answer a few questions about from where he’s come, what it means to participate and about winning EQCA’s Vanguard Leadership Award.
Gloria has been working in SoCal’s political arena since a very young age. He talked about what motivated that interest. “For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to help people. Politics deals with the people and institutions capable of making positive change in people’s lives and creating the foundation for all people to succeed, so I naturally gravitated in that direction.”
The significance of being gay can be a challenge in any arena. Gloria discussed the challenges of functioning in his world early on and how that changed as he grew into himself. “It was hard [at first]. At that time, knowing you’re different and knowing the world isn’t ready to accept you for who you are is a tough thing,” he shared.
“That said, I think it helped me realize the work that needed (and needs) to be done to create a more accepting and inclusive society. Not just in terms of equity and equality, but in terms of fostering a world in which LGBTQ people feel more comfortable being out and less concerned about hiding who they are.”
We all need a support system both personally and professionally. We wondered who and/or what had the greatest influence on Gloria’s outlook politically. “U.S. Congresswoman Susan Davis. I met her when I was 14 as part of the Aaron Price Fellows Program (she was the director). I was in the program for three years and we stayed in contact after I left. When she was elected to Congress, she hired me on her team and I worked for her for almost eight years.”
He next talked about who was most profound on a personal level. “My parents, Linda and Phil. They shaped my worldview greatly and instilled in me a philosophy that is the perfect recipe for public service: if you truly care about something, then you should leave it better than you found it,” Gloria shared.
“I remember how hard my parents worked to provide for my brother and me. My mom worked as a hotel maid and my dad as a gardener. Neither graduated from college, but they worked hard to make sure my brother and I had the opportunities they didn’t get to have. It’s because of them that much of what I have fought for as an elected official is to lift up middle and working-class families and it’s why I continue to fight.”
The only constant in life is that it changes. As we grow and mature our outlook changes, so we wondered how Gloria’s perspective has evolved, as far as the political arena and civil rights. “In the political arena, I think I have learned that politics shouldn’t hinder progress. All of us in public office were elected to solve tough problems. Our focus should always be consistently making progress for the people. We can’t let partisanship stand in the way.”
“In terms of civil rights, I think I’ve learned we have much more work to do—more than perhaps we previously anticipated,” Gloria continued. “The 2016 election awakened a lot of sentiments, feelings and biases in this country that many of us thought were nearly gone. Since that time, we have seen systematic attempts to roll back rights and protections we fought so hard to secure. We have to do more, we have to fight twice as hard, and we have to make sure we are at the table.”
Civil rights is an ongoing challenge, and though we’ve evolved the final destination hasn’t been reached. Gloria shared his view on what’s most important right now. “Securing them for all people. Regardless of if you’re a woman, transgender, African-American, or gay, we have seen consistent attempts to roll back protections and repeal the rights of underrepresented communities. We have to fight those attempts at every turn. The saying is true: an attack against one of us is an attack against all of us.
No stranger to San Diego City politics, Gloria served as interim mayor back in 2013 and chose not to run at the end of that term. He has recently tossed his hat into the ring and we wondered what the impetus was. “When I served as interim mayor, the City of San Diego was in crisis. The Mayor had just resigned amid controversy and the city’s operations as well as the public’s trust in the city were spiraling out of control. It was not a time to be political, the city needed leadership. I didn’t think it was right to campaign for Mayor at the same time as I was trying to bring the city back from the brink,” he shared.
“I also don’t think we would have been as successful in doing so if I was also campaigning for office. What’s clear now is that the City of San Diego is still in need of bold, progressive leadership to deal with the tough problems facing us. As a native San Diegan, I know where our city has been, and I have a vision for where we should go. Now more than ever, San Diego needs a leader with the lived experience to understand the challenges everyday San Diegans are dealing with, and the resolve to build a new San Diego that works for all of us.”
Todd Gloria was recently awarded with EQCA’s Vanguard Leadership Award, he offered this about what the honor means to him. “It’s a great honor to receive Equality California’s Vanguard Leadership Award. So many trailblazers of our community have received this award, and I stand humbly on their shoulders,” he offered. “What’s most important to me is that this award inspires the next generation of LGBTQ youth. I hope it shows them they can be whatever they want to be in this world and there will be an entire community to embrace them, love them, and cheer them on every step of the way.”
Todd Gloria’s twitter handle is @ToddGloria, for his official website go to a78.asmdc.org.
Equality California’s San Diego Equality Awards take place on Friday, June 14 at Humphrey by the Bay at 2241 Shelter Island Drive. For tickets and more information, go to eqca.org/equality-awards/san-diego-2019.