Deb Markowitz for Vermont Governor

Deb Markowitz: from Secretary of State to Governor of Vermont

It is an honor to introduce my sister, Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz who is running for governor of Vermont. When Civil Unions were passed in Vermont in 2000, Deb was in her second term as Secretary of State. As the person in charge of administering Civil Unions, she weathered a lot of criticism from opponents, and even received a few threats. But she never wavered from her strong stand of support for the civil rights of queer people. She let the city and town clerks know that they absolutely had to treat every same-sex couple who applied for a Civil Union license with respect and dignity. 
 
This past month, Deb came out forcefully in favor of changing Civil Unions to Same-Sex Marriage, and called Governor Jim Douglas to task for threatening to veto the bill if it passed. A reporter asked Deb why she cared about it so much, and she said, "It’s simple: same-sex marriages shouldn’t have second-class status. This is a civil rights issue, and the right thing to do is to make marriage available to all citizens without regard to their sexual orientation." 
 
Deb is more knowledgeable than most straight allies when it comes to the concerns of LGBT people. For a decade, I published an award-winning mental health magazine for queer people and their families called IN THE FAMILY. Deb subscribed to it from the first issue, and over the years she would call me to discuss articles on parenting, gays in the military, LGBT senior citizens and others. 
 
Deb was the first family member I came out to, 25 years ago. I can still remember feeling nervous as I called her from the pay phone in the basement of the college library. I blurted out my big revelation, and her immediate response was, "How wonderful!" She gave me moral support when I came out to our father, and—-ever helpful—-sent him books on the subject, including one with the memorable title: "So Now You Know." 
 
My sister went into politics for the right reasons. In 1998, Deb was working as a lawyer for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, and raising three young children with her husband, Paul. Frustrated by the do-nothing Secretary of State who was then in office, she finally decided to run against him. Even though she had never served in public office before, she defeated the two-term incumbent, and since then has been re-elected five times, always winning by extremely high margins. (Once, the Republicans put her name on their side of the ballot, too, because they couldn’t get anyone to run against her, and they didn’t want to leave it blank!) 
 
Deb has proven to Vermonters that she is a fair-minded, creative, effective and visionary leader. She will make a superb Governor. But there is a hard campaign ahead of her. Vermont’s current governor is well-funded, well-connected and a convincing speaker. His recent attempt to veto same-sex marriage in Vermont has shown that he’s no friend to LGBT people. My sister, Deborah Markowitz, is. 
 
We’ve seen how important it is to get allies into public office so that we can change the laws that discriminate against us and hurt our families. If you’re like me, you’re tired of fair-weather political allies who court our donations and our vote, and then seem embarrassed by us once they get elected. I guarantee that will not happen when Deborah Markowitz becomes Governor. This issue is personal for Deb, and she will work hard for our equal rights because she has no doubts or questions in her mind that it’s the right thing to do. 
 
You can read more about Deb and what her campaign for Governor of Vermont stands for at www.DebforVermont.com. Thank you for taking the time to read about my sister, Deb. I hope you will give her your support.