Dear Editor:

I’m going to vote for John Hartley to represent District 3. Mr. Hartley supports the citizenry of his community above the special interests.

Unlike most of the politicians currently holding office – and the minions who want to be elected in their footsteps – Mr. Hartley has never treated us with a piss-on-you attitude when it comes to important issues such as developer’s encroaching on our neighborhood and the public’s safety.

Lee A. Schoenbart

Dear Editor:

Thank you for the article about Jennifer Boylan in the April 3 issue of the GLT.

While she indeed provides a positive image of transgendered women, her fairy tale life “On Golden Pond” doesn’t mirror the reality most transsexuals face. Hers is the fantasy, the most optimistic outlook. A loving network of family and friends. An accepting and supportive partner. A tenured job with an employer who supports diversity and the income to make her dreams come true.

The reality is many transsexual females who transition later in life lose their jobs, their homes, their families, and their friends. Such as Susan Stanton, who recently tried to transition in place and was fired from her long time job as city manager of Largo, FL by a homophobic City Council, divorced by her wife, and the last I heard was still unemployed with little hope of continuing in her career.

The reality is many young transsexuals who transition as teenagers have little education or job skills, are often estranged from family and support. They frequently end up on the street, in jail, fighting mental health issues, engaging in sex work, drug use and other destructive behaviors with little hope of obtaining the fairy tale.

So while we celebrate the success of women such as Jennifer Boylan, let’s not forget those living in the shadows.

Jamie Starr & Jessica Compton

Dear Editor:

If I was in the mood for a new car I would go directly to Hoehn Motors. I would make it clear I was gay and that I do not reflect the narrow views of the intolerant portion in this community represented in this publication.

I would tell Robert Hoehn that I thought his donation to Protect-marriage.com was just plain silly. I would then tell him, that in my opinion it should all be civil union with marriage between the couple and their church. I would then tell him efforts to “save the sanctity of marriage” is 40 years too late as breeders have already destroyed the covenant of the sacrament. I would then ask him how many times he has been married and if he has or has ever had children living between two homes. (And then just for laughs I would ask him if he knew how many times Roger Hedgecock has been married.....) And then if he gave me good deal, I would buy.

Mr. Pena, my questions are: How is the stupid donation of an ignorant butt head more important then the news that the syphilis rate in this community is up 1000%? Given historical data, why is it not the concern of this community and this duplication that in two years there very well may be a 1000% increase in HIV infection? Slap me upside the head for the answer.....Portantino will still sell ad space publishing his kool-aid to those who will drink it, and Nicole and local AIDS charities have job security.

It appears there is plenty of hypocrisy to go around.

Kevin McCarthy

Dear Editor:

Sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton sounded like a good thing. He was young and charismatic and he paid attention to the Lesbian and Gay community. He spoke of us openly, and, most importantly to me as a then recently separated Air Force veteran, he promised to issue an executive order ending the ban on service by Gays in the military.

Of course, he didn’t do that. In fact, he strengthened our exclusion, goaded on by Democratic senator Sam Nunn, by signing “don’t ask, don’t tell”, changing the ban from a mere regulation into a law.

I left the Democratic party after that betrayal. My decision to leave the party was later validated when President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act. No Republican has ever caused so much direct and lasting harm to our community.

Eight years ago, suffering from “Clinton fatigue,” I cast no ballot at all in the 2000 presidential election. Whatever Al Gore’s qualifications, his association with Bill Clinton rendered him unpalatable. I’d had enough of the blue dress and the definition of “is” and the Wilsonesque breaking of promises and the wearying, hypocritical, divisive attacks by the Pharisees and Scribes in the Republican Party. Anything remotely Clintonian filled me with a disgust like I’d been drinking bile.

That disgust remains.

Now we have Hillary. Hillary who “misspoke” when she claimed to land in Bosnia under fire when she was really chatting up a little 8-year old girl. Hillary whose attacks on Rev Wright’s (admittedly overblown) rhetoric rely as much on institutional racism as anything ever uttered by David Duke. Hillary who, it turns out, is her husband’s match for sophistry and cynical, lawyerly dishonesty.

I feel my Clinton fatigue returning, like a rheumatic ache before a storm. I am sick of the narcissism. I am sick of the divisiveness. I am sick of the lies. I can forgive a politician for cheating on his wife with an intern or a $4,000-an-hour call girl. I can forgive a politician for fellowshipping in a church whose pastor holds extreme views. I can forgive a politician for saying Iran supports al Qaeda. But I cannot forgive Hillary Clinton’s calculated untruths. She has no integrity and is utterly unfit to be president.

Rev Keith W Ramsey

Dear Editor:

I felt an explanation should be made to my beloved community regarding what happened to Club Montage to dispel some, if not all, of the rumors I’ve been hearing in the last few weeks. I must first say the rumors have been a source of constant entertainment for all of us at the club. As for the real story, last year we took on a “straight black, urban, hip-hop night” that SDPD simply did not want us to have.

I could not help but feel like I was in Alabama and it was 1955, or I was in the Confederate South. I was being told in a subliminal way by SDPD what I could and could not do. What music I could and could not play. Who I could and could not have patronize my business- in a round about subliminal way of course. Holly Footloose!

This was clearly a first amendment issue. The city tried to make the club responsible for alleged illegal activities happening beyond the scope of responsibility and in turn threatened to take away our licenses and permits.

Four weeks ago I began to solicit the help of my community leaders, making calls and sending letters. In most cases I did not even receive a call back or response at all. The sad fact was when I called my elected community representatives and these supposed community leaders; I was told “they just don’t want you on the block”.

I received no help from anyone in my Gay community, a community I’ve supported and have been a member of since 1982. Perhaps it’s the curse of not being in 92103. My staff, my attorney Kenneth Cooke and I fought the revocation of permits, assessment of fines, and a constant barrage of erroneous allegations by SDPD Vice; all of which were ruled by a judge to be unfounded.

After a month long battle with the city we won our case and I’ve decided to reopen and continue to bring great DJ’s, vocalist’s theme nights, and simply the best after-hours club experience San Diego has to offer. To the friends and family of Club Montage: Thank you for the last two years as well as to Michael Portintino and Nicole for at least calling me back. Yes! We are reopening with a new name-TBA, special effects, and a new format. GIANT ENTERTAINMENT will be joining the new club and we will continue to support our local gay community and those organizations most in need. Wait to you see our lineup for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s always been about the music, so support your local gay owned businesses and we surely will see you on the dance floor!

Chris Braga-Owner

Club Montage