Photo by Tom Jenz
Cavalier Johnson
Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced the appointment of a new LGBTQ+ Liaison, an unpaid position created to connect the mayor’s office with the LGBTQ+ community. By Thursday, community members were already voicing their objections on social media. The appointment’s opposition even made the evening news. Chris Allen, CEO of Diverse and Resilient, the city’s LGBTQ+ capacity building and advocacy organization that focuses on POC and indigenous populations, called on the mayor to reconsider the appointment. LGBT Community Center interim director Ritchie Martin decried it as a “blindside.”
At first, the mayor’s office defended the decision citing the individual having been vetted by LGBTQ leaders including JoCasta Zamarripa, the Common Council’s only member who identifies as LGBTQ. However, news reports also indicated that the complaints were “under review.” Then, nine days later, the newly appointed liaison withdrew.
The relatively quick resolution averted a greater debacle but has raised many questions about the liaison’s purpose and what personal and professional qualifications should be required of a potential candidate. Created through the efforts of the city’s Equal Rights Commission, the LGBTQ Liaison’s existence contributed to Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index awarding Milwaukee a 100% rating. However, since the naming of Jonathan Fera as the city’s first liaison in 2022, little is publicly known about the liaison’s activities.
Tone Deaf?
While the debacle unfolded I spoke to two community figures, both white gay males, who called the opposition to the mayor’s appointment “ridiculous.” Their perception seemed to be that the objections were solely based on the liaison being white. That tone deafness unto itself may be indicative of the ever-pervasive obliviousness of community higher-ups to the deep-seated inequities challenging the greater LGBTQ community, especially those of color. Meanwhile, in another conversation among members of local LGBTQ group, some people assumed the liaison played an HR role, dealing only with city employees.
Such misunderstandings are easy to understand. While Mayor Johnson cited the position’s voice on issues of “opportunity, discrimination and safety,” I found no actual job description or mission statement on the City’s website or elsewhere. Surprisingly, the LGBTQ Liaison does not appear to have a social media presence. Were it an honorary or ceremonial position it might not be expected to have one. However, because, ostensibly, the liaison is intended to be a functioning entity that engages the community and responds to its needs, perhaps it should.
In that regard, although perhaps not surprisingly, it is sadly ironic that the backlash to the mayor’s appointment emanated from community organizations Diverse & Resilient and the LGBT Community Center as well as from a host of other activists and individuals of color. It implies a failure of the liaison’s very purpose, namely, to insure communication between City Hall and the LGBTQ community.
Selection Process
That also raises the question of the process of selecting an appropriate appointee and how much effort had been exerted to that end. Obviously, given the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, the demands of the office would require solid credentials and extensive experience in a range of relevant community needs from health care access, issues concerning youth, seniors and the transgender community, to discrimination and general safety on the streets in a world ever more affected by hate and violence.
Add to that Milwaukee’s highly segregated cultural history, the liaison’s knowledge of, and sensitivity to our city’s inherent disparities as well as overall competence in social justice strategies are paramount to insuring their effectiveness. To be credible, the liaison should have a history of community engagement at that level. Someone with specific education in a relevant field to ensure competency and community trust would seem like reasonable expectations.
The flap over the appointment may also indicate the LGBTQ community is itself too diverse to be represented by one individual. Perhaps the LGBTQ liaison would be better suited as a committee with members representing the various segments of the community.
Meanwhile, the search is on for a suitable candidate. I suspect this time there will be input from Diverse & Resilient, the LGBT Community Center, FORGE and perhaps other community leaders.
Perhaps some inspiration may be taken LGBT Police Liaison (there are two holding that title, by the way). That office has evolved since the Dahmer case in the early 1990s when Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) finally sat down with the LGBTQ community to seriously address the relationship between the two. As a result, today the Police Liaison boasts a positive and impactful record of engagement with advances in MPD’s cultural competency vis-à-vis the community. Among those are recent changes in official procedural policies towards transgender individuals and a “Safe Space” initiative launched last year.
