Eric Stern: The Iowa Diaries

IOWA DIARY

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (12:15 p.m.)
DES MOINES
After looking at local weather reports, I was pretty concerned about being able to make it to Des Moines.  I flew from Oakland, California to Denver, Colorado and then was scheduled to fly from Denver to Des Moines.  While waiting in Denver, I heard some folks behind me talking about how the Des Moines airport had been closed all morning and that two morning flights had been cancelled.  Things didn’t look good!  Then, to our delight, we received news from United that our flight would be boarding shortly and that the Des Moines airport had re-opened.  Iowa—here I come!

Blazing Saddles—Meet & Greet with the Local LGBT Community (6:00 p.m.)
After arriving in Des Moines, Iowa Deputy Political Director Alanna Kelly and I headed over to Blazing Saddles, Des Moines’ first gay bar (opened in 1982) for a meet and greet with the local LGBT community.  Because the weather had forced nearly all of the presidential candidates to cancel their events in Des Moines, we had a fairly large crowd at the bar.  We were greeted at the door by Bob “Mongo” Eikleberry—the owner of the Blazing Saddle.  Mongo, a Vietnam Veteran and the founder of the All Iowa AIDS Benefit, is one of the pillars of the Des Moines LGBT community.  He has been a role model and source of support for dozens of LGBT youth who came to Des Moines after being kicked out of their homes after revealing their sexual orientation to their parents.  Mongo is an inspiration to us all and I am proud to say also a strong and vocal supporter of John Edwards.  I spent the evening talking with a diverse group of local LGBT voters—young, old, black, white, gay, lesbian and allied.  Many of the voters with whom I talked are still undecided, but I wanted to make sure they knew that the Edwards Campaign was working to earn their vote and that our campaign welcomes and would be honored by the support of LGBT voters across America.  Several voters told me that the Edwards Campaign was the first to send an openly gay surrogate to the bar to ask them for their support.  Great first event—going back to the hotel to crash and get ready for a long day of travel and events!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007
DES MOINES

Breakfast with Carolyn Jenison—Executive Director of One Iowa (9:00 a.m.)
Alanna and I had the opportunity to have breakfast with Carolyn—the head of One Iowa, Iowa’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization.  We learned from Carolyn about the extensive community education efforts One Iowa is doing all across the state and the Caucus Project they have put in place to increase the participation of the Iowa’s LGBT community in the January 3 Caucuses.  The Edwards Campaign has been sending our Iowa LGBT supporters to One Iowa Caucus trainings and meetings and we are proud of this partnership.  Carolyn is a fabulous leader doing vitally important work.  She told us that she and her partner caucused for Edwards in 2004 and we would proud and honored to have the support of her and partner again in 2008.

AMES (11:00 a.m.)
On to Ames—the home of Iowa State University and the Cyclones for Edwards!

Community Meet & Greet at Legends American Grill (12:00 p.m.)
Our local field organizers in Ames set up a fantastic meet and greet with undecided voters—both gay and straight in a private skybox room at Legends overlooking the beautiful Iowa State University campus.  Upon arriving, I met two remarkable community leaders—Terry Lowman and his husband Mark Kassis.  Terry and Mark are openly gay business owners in Ames and proud supporters of John Edwards for President.  I also met a number of Iowa State University undergraduate students and graduate students who are serving as precinct co-chairs in their student communities.  There was great energy at this event and a number of the more senior voters I met at this event who were undecided before have now since committed to caucus for Edwards.  Terry and Mark, like Mongo, are local pillars of the Ames LGBT community.  On my way out of the event, Terry told me a story that nearly broke my heart.  He told me that it had not always been easy to be openly gay business owners in Ames. But, one experience made them realize it had been worth it.  They received a letter from a young man in Ames who told them that he had considered suicide a number of times after realizing that he was gay.  But, after learning and reading about Terry and Mark and their success as a couple and as business owners, he told them that he knew he could survive and make it.  It is individuals like Terry and Mark and Mongo who make our community so strong.

IOWA CITY (4:00 p.m.)
On to Iowa City—the home of the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes for Edwards group, and one of America’s best kept secrets.  (On our drive out to Iowa City, we kept hoping to run into John Edwards, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins on their statewide bus tour—no luck!!)  My best friend in college is from Iowa City—so I know it and love it very much.  What many people don’t know about Iowa City is that it has one of the highest per capita LGBT populations in the country and that it was the first city in Iowa to pass laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Community Meet & Greet at the House of Aromas (5:45 p.m.)
We were greeted at this funky coffee house by Iowa City field organizer Craig Leabhart, an openly gay student at the University of Iowa who has taken time off from school to work for John Edwards.  I had a spirited conversation with 15 of Iowa City’s community leaders, including Paul Osterholt—the Chair of the GLBT Caucus for the Iowa Democratic Party.  (Paul and his partner James were scheduled to be my host family in 2004 in Iowa City before I got re-assigned to be the Regional Field Director for Kerry-Edwards in Davenport, Iowa).  Demonstrating how small the world really is, I also met another local elected official who happened to have grown up in my hometown of Wadsworth, Ohio (his sister was my editor on the high school newspaper).  I met yet another inspirational community figure in an allied school board member who had for years—despite being threatened--been working to incorporate into the curriculum books and lessons designed to build awareness and tolerance of LGBT Americans. 

I was excited to be able to provide to participants at the meeting with the “breaking news” that Edwards had just received the endorsement of the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition and its Executive Director—State Legislator Mo Baxley. Before we knew it, we all had to break up our great discussion to head to a holiday party at the University of Iowa GLBT Center.  However, because we have Craig on staff as our field organizer, I am confident that he will continue doing great outreach to all aspects of Iowa City’s LGBT community.

University of Iowa GLBT Allied Union Holiday Party (7:00 p.m.)
The U of I GLBT Allied Union is the oldest GLBT student group in the country and is celebrating in 2008 its 37th anniversary!  They also, just last year, were given a cozy and beautiful home as the campus’ GLBT center.  I had the opportunity to talk with about two dozen active, engaged GLBT students.  They asked intelligent questions about climate change, health care, restoring our reputation abroad and the federal deficit.  We left them with policy books, handouts on the work we have done as an LGBT Steering Committee and a message encouraging them to caucus on January 3.  They left us with inspiration as we thought about what the world will be like when they are leading it.

Thursday, December 13, 2007
Headed Back Home (8:00 a.m.)

What a fantastic trip!  I came away with the sense that those voters who are committed to caucus for us will turn out and have the passion, enthusiasm and experience to convince many of their neighbors to support John Edwards.  Iowa is lucky to have so many terrific LGBT community leaders and our campaign is so proud to have their support.