Well I am off to Portland, Ore., and it seems I will soon be hitting the road again to both Colorado and Washington, D.C. But I’ll be here on Saturday, Oct. 27, to emcee Nightmare on Normal Street.

As an American citizen, I have every right to endorse and support any candidate I want. As a columnist, I have the right to express my support and give you my recommendations. As a reader, you have the right to agree or disagree. By the way, in the last election, about 90 percent of the candidates I supported won, which is a better record than the Gay & Lesbian Times, San Diego Democratic Club or Log Cabin Republicans. There is more to me than just being a gay man. I am also a person of color. I find it most interesting that I am being attacked by some people for supporting councilmembers Tony Young, Kevin Faulconer and Brian Meinshein, who voted against marriage equality. But there was not one letter of criticism that mentioned my endorsement for councilmembers Jim Madaffer, Scott Peters or Ben Hueso (whom I organized the only GLBT fund-raiser for), who all did vote for marriage equality. Yes, I endorsed and supported Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. While he did veto the marriage equality bill he has signed nine, yes nine, GLBT civil rights bills. As I’ve said I do not judge public officials by one or two votes, and gay issues are not my only issues. Where is the gay support for Latino, Asian and black causes and issues? The GLBT community’s leadership is usually missing in action. I find it interesting that one writer wrote that the San Diego Democratic Club and Tom Homan Law Association did not endorse Mike Aguirre in the primary. Yes, they did not support a Latino who had spoken out at the City Council meeting against the Boy Scout lease, and spoke for marriage equality. Gentlemen, I stand by my endorsements. But never judge me as a gay man, because I am also a person of color. I am a citizen where many issues and causes are important to me. Still, don’t worry because I am probably in the twilight of my life. Soon you may not have Nicole to kick around any longer, but in the meantime I’ll be damned if I’ll let you portray me falsely and question my commitment to our community.

The main ballroom of the San Diego Marina Marriott Hotel was filled with nearly 800 GLBT citizens, allies, elected officials, family and friends, when The Center hosted its 34th Annual Gala last Saturday, which is the GLBT event of the year. It was great to see the good people of San Diego LGBT Pride present more than $40,000 to The Center. The agency also received an additional $10,000 for The Center’s Domestic Violence Program, which was presented by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ office. Senator Chris Kehoe and Judge David Rubin’s big ovations stood out. But the introduction or even the mention of Mayor Jerry Sanders not only nearly tore the roof off of the place, but it was the longest standing ovation in the history of The Center’s Gala. It was great to see Nordstrom (which by the way carries great ties) honored with the “Friend of The Center Award,” and it was also nice to see three community youth receive student scholarships for their achievements.

When it came to the introduction of the District 3 City Council candidates, Todd Gloria’s standing ovation was noticeably greater than the public acknowledgement of Stephen Whitburn. Gloria is the clear front-runner in his own community.

I thank The Center for including some history and pictures of the organization, and especially that of Jess Jessop and past executive directors. What was very noticeable was the attendance of many non-gay civic and community leaders. Congressmember Susan Davis also received a big ovation. A charity dinner with Davis sold for $650 in the silent auction and a ride-along with Police Chief William Lansdowne went for $1,000.

Mark your calendars for the 35th Anniversary Gala, which will take place next year on National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11. It will be held in the grand ballroom at the beautiful new Paradise Point Resort, which holds up to 1,000 people. Bravo to Delores Jacobs, Richard Valdez and the entire board, staff and volunteers. Bravo indeed!

Last week veteran’s activist and former Marine Sgt. Bob Lehman and I traveled to Carlsbad for a breakfast meeting with Congressman Brian Bilbray and his hardworking and beautiful district director Christy Guerin, who is also the former mayor of Escondido. I’ve worked hard on HIV/AIDS issues with Bilbray since I served on the AIDS Advisory Board he established when he was on the County Board of Supervisors.

While I disagree with the congressmember on some major issues, we did have a good discussion regarding “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” and we hope to have further dialogue on this and other issues.

The San Diego Lambda Archives will soon be holding its 20th anniversary celebration, “20 Years-20 Heroes,” which will honor 20 heroes in the GLBT community. Councilmember Toni Atkins and I are honored to have been asked to chair this historic event that will take place at The Center on Saturday, Dec. 8. I’ve seen a preview of the “20 heroes” and must say that I am very impressed. I’m sure that the entire community will be also. We must all join the campaign to preserve San Diego’s GLBT history.

For more information, call 619-692-1967.

Last week I met with Councilmember Jim Madaffer to discuss the appointment to the Human Relations Commission from a leader within the disabled community. I have supported and been a friend of Madaffer’s since the days when he was Councilwoman Judy McCarty’s Chief of Staff. It was nice to see him and his beautiful wife at The Center’s Gala. I of course thank Jim for his recent important vote that supported the equality of all Californians.

San Diego is the home of thousands of veteran and active GLBT military. This year, Veteran’s Day weekend will be full of special events, and it’s your chance to salute, say thank you and show your respect to all the GLBT veterans. Everyone is invited to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Rally” at the Federal Building on Friday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. That same night, there will be a Veteran’s Day Weekend kick-off reception at the Caliph at 8 p.m. On Veteran’s Day, the local gay veteran’s chapter AVER, will have a parade contingent and the Military Ball, with honorary chairs congressmembers Susan Davis and Bob Filner, will be held at The Center at 6 p.m. Certainly there are bound to be a lot of people in uniforms in attendance!

For more information, call 619-459-1019.