PBCHRC Update - September 2012

Thanks to the voter identification, early voting, absentee ballot and get-out-the vote campaigns conducted by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance, members of Palm Beach County’s LGBT community– and our allies – turned out in record numbers for the August 14, 2012 election.   In contrast, voter turnout in the non-LGBT population was dismally low.

Thanks to your efforts, almost all of the endorsed candidates were victorious in the August 24 primary election.  After more than two decades of educating and turning out LGBT and allied voters, we are proud of our successes.

The candidates endorsed by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance who were elected (or re-elected) to serve in the following offices include:

●    State Senator District 27 - Jeff Clemens
●    State House of Representatives (District 87) - David Kerner
●    Clerk of the Circuit Court - Sharon Bock
●    Property Appraiser - Gary Nikolits  
●    Supervisor of Elections - Susan Bucher
●    Tax Collector - Anne M. Gannon
●    Port of Palm Beach (Group 1) - Wayne Richards
●    Circuit Court Judge (Group 9) - Ron Alvarez
●    Circuit Court Judge (Group 26) - James L. Martz
●    County Court Judge (Group 4) - Peter M. Evans
●    County Court Judge (Group 6) - Edward A. Garrison

Congratulations to all of these great public officials!

Several of our endorsed candidates face challengers in the general election on November 6, 2012.  They include:

●    President - Barack Obama
●    U.S. Congress District 18 - Patrick Murphy
●    U.S. Congress District 20 - Alcee Hastings
●    U.S. Congress District 21 - Ted Deutch
●    U.S. Congress District 22 - Lois Frankel
●    State House of Representatives (District 81) - Kevin Rader
●    State House of Representatives (District 86) - Mark S. Pafford
●    State House of Representatives (District 90) - Lori B. Berman
●    State House of Representatives (District 91) - Irving "Irv" Slosberg
●    State Attorney - Dave Aronberg
●    County Commissioner (District 1) - David J. Levy
●    County Commissioner (District 3) - Rochelle (Shelley) M. Van
●    County Commission (District 5) - Mary Lou Berger

In addition, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance has endorsed the retention of three Justices on the Florida Supreme Court: 

●    Justice  R. Fred Lewis
●    Justice Barbara J. Parents
●    Justice Peggy Quince

The Council is also urging our supporters to vote “NO” on all eleven proposed Constitutional Amendments appearing on the November ballot.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance will be interviewing additional candidates for the Florida Legislature who will be on the November ballot and we will inform you of any endorsements via e-mail, our website, our blog, and of course, our continuous e-mail blasts!

Florida made history on August 14, 2012 with the election of an openly gay candidate, Democrat David Richardson of Miami Beach to the Florida House of Representatives! 

In November, four other gay men have the opportunity to join him in Tallahassee: Democrats, Joe Saunders of Orange County, John Alvarez of Brevard County and Ian Whitney of Key West, and Republican Scott Herman of Wilton Manors

The November 6 election is exceptionally important and as always, your votes will make a difference in changing the laws and policies which effect our lives.

On July 21st, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council supporters joined elected officials and  candidates (who are also PBCHRC supporters) at our Summer Soirée at the Old Guard Society of Palm Beach.  Once again, longtime PBCHRC supporter Scott Kent produced the event, which was our most successful fundraiser in the past two dozen years. 

Thanks go out to Scott Velozo for his graphic design, Cal Miller & Associates their assistance with publicity, as well as to interior designer Michael Powers and his partner Scott for their amazing work transforming the club rooms into a beach party. 

Special thanks go out to Sandy James Fine Foods, Echo and The Sugar Monkey for the wonderful hors d'ouvres , sushi and desserts.

The Summer Soirée was entirely underwritten thanks to the tireless efforts of Dan Hall, the Council’s Treasurer. For more than twenty years, Dan has worked tirelessly to ensure the  funding is in place to enable the Council to move forward with our initiatives.  Dan’s efforts are greatly appreciated by the Board of Directors.

To our many event underwriters and sponsors, our vendors and volunteers, and most importantly, our supporters, thank you for making the 2012 Summer Soirée a great success!

Last Spring , the School Board of Palm Beach County created a 24 member District Diversity and Equity Committee which includes representatives from both the Council and Compass.  The Council is proud to be represented by Mark Rutherford, a West Palm Beach psychotherapist.   Mark, his partner of 21 years Tom Davis, and Moms Amber and Mimi all co-parent the family’s two children.  Their 16 year old son Cris and their 12 year old daughter Sofia attend public school in Palm Beach County.

The Council is pleased to roll out our new website at pbchrc.org.  Unlike the old website, our new website is accessible on Apple devices and has many new features. We hope you like the new look.  Thanks go out to our long-term webmaster, Joseph Abreau, who generously donated his services in creating our new website.

At the 2012  Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Florida is represented by 40 LGBT activists (including me!).  As always, this opportunity has allowed us to strategize with LGBT activists from across the United States.  As a result, we have come away with new ideas for initiatives to benefit Palm Beach County’s LGBT community.  

PBCHRC welcomes J.P. Sasser, the openly gay Mayor of Pahokee to our Board of Directors.  His addition to our Board will help tremendously as help educate local public officials on the need to provide equal treatment and benefits to LGBT Floridians and our families.  JP replaces West Palm Beach bankruptcy attorney Michael Bakst, who stepped down this summer after serving over a decade on the Council’s Board of Directors.  We thank Michael for his years of dedicated service to our organization.

Members of the Council’s all volunteer Board of Directors are currently:

●    in the early stages of work on LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies and domestic partnership benefits in both Greenacres City and Boca Raton,

●    working with Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock and several County Commissioners on revisions to the County’s Domestic Partnership Ordinance, and

●    developing a training program for the judges serving in Palm Beach County, assisting them in  dealing more effectively with members of the LGBT community.


As you can see, so much work remains to be done, and we greatly appreciate your support in our endeavors.

Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBT community.  Rest assured we will continue to do so in 2012 – and beyond.

Rand Hoch,
President and Founder


This paid political advertisement, which is independent of any candidate or committee, is produced, sponsored and paid for by the The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.

PBCHRC Voters Alliance Endorsements - 2012

The following candidates have been endorsed by The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance for the 2012 General Election:

    President
    Barack Obama (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 18)
    Patrick Murphy (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 20)
    Alcee Hastings (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 21)
    Ted Deutch (D)

    U.S. Congress (District 22)
    Lois Frankel (D)

    State Attorney
    Dave Aronberg (D)

    State Senate (District 25)
    Joseph Abruzzo (D)
 
    State Senate (District 27)
    Jeff Clemens (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 81)
    Kevin Rader (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 85)
    David Lutrin (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 86)
    Mark S. Pafford (D)

    State House of Representatives (District 89)
    Bill Hager (R)

    State House of Representatives (District 90)
    Lori Berman (D)

    Tax Collector
    Anne M. Gannon

    County Commissioner (District 1)
    David J. Levy (D)
 
    County Commissioner (District 3)
    Rochelle "Shelley" Vana (D)

    County Commissioner (District 5)
    Mary Lou Berger (D)

    School Board (District 1)
    Christine Jax

    Retain Florida Supreme Court Justices:
        R. Fred Lewis - YES
        Barbara J. Pariente - YES
        Peggy Quince - YES

    Port of Palm Beach (Group 1)
    Wayne M. Richards (D)

    Palm Beach County Soil and 
    Water Conservation District (Group 2) .
    Drew Martin                       

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance also urges our supporters to vote “NO” on all of the proposed Constitutional Amendments appearing on the November ballot. 

 ______________________

This paid electioneering communication, which is independent of any party, candidate or committee, is produced, sponsored and paid for by the The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council Voters Alliance.
Post Office Box 267
West Palm Beach, Florida 33402
(561) 358-0105

West Palm Beach Housing Authority amends Equal Employment Policy to include gender identity and gender expression

January 27, 2012

At the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, the West Palm Beach Housing Authority has amended its Equal Employment Policy to include both gender identity and gender expression.

The new policy now reads: The Authority maintains a policy of non-discrimination with employees and applicants for employment. Open positions will be filled by the best qualified applicant without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, political belief, gender identity, gender expression or mental or physical disability (if such disability does not unreasonably interfere with the abilities of the employee to perform the work required).

Palm Beach County broadens commercial non-discrimination policy to include "gender identity or expression"

January 25, 2011

(West Palm Beach Beach) By a 6-1 vote, the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners amended its Nondiscrimination in Contracting Policy on Tuesday, prohibiting the County from doing business with, or appropriating funds to, public and private organizations which practice discrimination based on "gender identity or expression."

The policy now covers race, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or disability.

Commissioner Steven Abrams of Boca Raton cast the only "no" vote, stating that the new standards could have a negative impact on the number of businesses bidding on county projects.

Abrams, a Republican, expressed concern that the new policy could lead to less competition and higher prices for taxpayers.

"Commissioner Abrams' concern is unfounded," said Rand Hoch, a retired judge who serves as President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. The Council is a local nonprofit organization is dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

"The Palm Beach County School District's Commercial Non-Discrimination Policy includes sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression," said Hoch. "Commissioner Abrams cannot point to one company that has stopped bidding for work on our schools because of that policy."

In response to Abrams' concern that the policy could lead to additional litigation, Hoch replied, "Palm Beach County law already prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity or expression. The new policy will not give rise to any new cause of action."

The Council commended the County Commissioners for taking a proactive stand against discrimination.

City of Delray Beach Expands Domestic Partnership Benefits

(Delray Beach, Florida) The Delray Beach City Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to amend the City's Family and Medical Leave Policy to allow city employees to use family and medical leave to care for their domestic partners in the same manner married employees may use it to care for their spouses.

The action was taken at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, which has been working with the city on domestic partnership issues since 2006.

The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has been the leading advocate for domestic partner benefits in Florida since 1992, when theCity of West Palm Beach became Florida's first public employer to provide domestic partnership benefits.

"With this action, the City of Delray Beach now offers employees with domestic partners virtually all of the same family benefits it provides to married employees," said Human Rights Council President Rand Hoch, "The pro-family domestic partnership policies in Delray Beach are among the most progressive in the State of Florida."

More public employers in Palm Beach County provide domestic partnership benefits than in any of Florida's other sixty-six counties.

In Palm Beach County, public employers that provide domestic partnership health insurance and other benefits include Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, the Office of the Tax Collector, the Office of the Property Appraiser, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Port of Palm Beach, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran, Palm Beach County Children's Services Council, the Palm Beach County Health Care District, Seacoast Utility Authority, as well as the cities of Delray Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach, the Town of Jupiter and the Village of Wellington.

PBCHRC President's Message - January 2012

January 2012

While Florida has the third largest LGBT population of any state in the union (following California and New York), our state lacks any statewide laws offering protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents regarding employment, housing and public accommodations. Florida also lacks any statewide law protecting LGBT students from bullying and harassment. Moreover, Florida’s constitution and statutes prohibit lesbians and gay men from marrying their partners.

However, thanks to the efforts of the all-volunteer Board of Directors of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council over the past twenty-four years, more than sixty local laws and policies now provide Palm Beach County’s LGBT residents (and visitors) with both equal protection and equal family benefits.

Both Palm Beach County’s Equal Employment Ordinance and Fair Housing Ordinance prohibit discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.” The Cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth have also enacted citywide ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression”.

Other local public employers that have enacted ordinances, collective bargaining agreements, and policies prohibiting discrimination based on both “sexual orientation” and/or “gender identity or expression” for their employees include the City of Atlantis, the City of Belle Glade, the City of Boynton Beach, the City of Delray Beach, the City of Greenacres, the City of Pahokee, the City of Palm Beach Gardens, the City of South Bay, the Town of Haverhill, the Town of Hypoluxo, the Town of Juno Beach, the Town of Jupiter, the Town of Lake Park, the Town of Manalapan, the Town of Palm Beach, the Town of Palm Beach Shores, the Village of Royal Palm Beach, the Village of Tequesta, the Village of Wellington, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, Florida Atlantic University, the Port of Palm Beach, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the Tax Collector, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Office of the Public Defender, the Office of the State Attorney, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs' Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, Seacoast Utility Authority, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran and the Palm Beach County Children's Services Council.

Both the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County have domestic partnership registries that provide limited “spousal” benefits for lesbian and gay couples who have registered as domestic partners (or who have been married or entered into a civil union anywhere in the world).

In 1992, the City of West Palm Beach became the first public employer in Florida to offer domestic partnership benefits to its employees. Other public employers in Palm Beach County that now offer family health insurance coverage and other family benefits for employees with domestic partners include (in chronological order): the Palm Beach County Sheriffs' Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, the Port of Palm Beach, the City of Lake Worth, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Office of the Tax Collector, the City of Delray Beach, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran, the Town of Jupiter, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, the Palm Beach County Children's Services Council and Seacoast Utility Authority.

In recent years, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has focused on family issues, working with public employers to ensure that employees could use family medical leave to care for their domestic partners in the same manner as other employees could use it to care for their spouses. The following public employers enacted inclusive family medical leave policies in 2011: the School District of Palm Beach County, the Office of the State Attorney, the Office of the Public Defender, the City of West Palm Beach, the City of Lake Worth and the Village of Wellington.

While Palm Beach County, the City of Delray Beach, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, and Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock informed the Council last Spring that they will update their family and medical leave policies to include domestic partners, to date they have not revised their policies. However, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council expects these changes to be made in early 2012.

With virtually no hope of progress on the statewide (or federal level) for LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination laws and equal benefit policies for LGBT families, much work remains to be done on the local level.

Since 1988, the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has worked diligently on behalf of the LGBT community. Rest assured we will continue to do so in 2012 – and beyond.

Rand Hoch,

President and Founder

Village of Wellington Extends Domestic Partnership Benefits

The Wellington Village Council has completed a comprehensive policy revision to include registered domestic partners of Village employees as family members.

The action was taken at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, which has been working with the Village on domestic partnership issues for the past year. The Palm Beach County Human Rights Council has been the leading advocate for domestic partner benefits in Florida since 1992, when the City of West Palm Beach became Florida's first public employer to provide domestic partnership benefits.

Domestic partners of Village employees and their children are now eligible for the same health, dental, vision and supplemental dependent life insurance coverage as employees' spouses and their children. In addition, Village employees may now take extended medical leave to care for their domestic partners and may utilize bereavement leave to grieve for an employee's domestic partner, as well as the partner's children, parents, siblings and grandparents.

"When we met with Wellington Mayor Darell Bowen at last year's gay polo tournament, the mayor emphasized the importance of developing a very inclusive domestic partnership policy," said Rand Hoch, President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Human Rights Council. "As a result, Village Manager Paul Schofield and his staff developed a pro-family domestic partnership policy which is possibly the most inclusive in Florida."

Each year, the Village of Wellington plays host to the Gay Polo League's international tournament. This year's tournament will be held on Saturday, April 14 at Wellington's Grand Champions Polo Club.

"The Gay Polo League facilitated the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council's efforts to urge the Village to extend domestic partnership benefits," said Hoch. "Last year, the Gay Polo League was instrumental in having Wellington include both 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity or expression' in the Village's nondiscrimination policies."

Wellington is recognized as the winter equestrian capital of the world and in 2010 was named one of the "Top 100 Best Places to Live" by Money Magazine.

More public employers in Palm Beach County provide domestic partnership benefits than in any of Florida's other sixty-six counties.

In Palm Beach County, public employers that provide domestic partnership health insurance and other benefits include Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach State College, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, the Office of the Tax Collector, the Office of the Property Appraiser, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections, the Port of Palm Beach, the Solid Waste Authority, Palm Tran, Palm Beach County Children's Services Council, the Palm Beach County Health Care District, Seacoast Utility Authority, as well as the cities of Delray Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach, and the Town of Jupiter.

"Hopefully other public employers in Florida will soon follow Wellington's lead," said Hoch.