Please don’t forget to vote this coming Tuesday, June 3. Thank you.

The last week before the election, District 3 City Council candidate Stephen Whitburn wrote one more personal check to tally $93,000 in contributions to his own campaign. As San Diego CityBeat pointed out in a recent story, Whitburn came to San Diego six years ago looking to run for public office. What CityBeat failed to say was he came here trying to buy an office. I never knew Whitburn was so rich as to loan his campaign nearly $100,000. He’s never been a big financial sponsor of any of our causes or social service fund-raising events. It’s obvious Whitburn has seen the same polling I have, where he remains in a distant third place. Meanwhile, candidate Todd Gloria has not loaned his campaign a dime. Instead, he’s relied on more than 1,200 individual donations to his campaign. Whitburn’s personal contributions of $93,000 is more than half of the total amount of money he has raised. Not since Republican millionaire former District 3 Councilmember Gloria McColl have we seen a candidate loan his or her campaign so much money. My prediction is that the District 3 City Council seat can’t be bought and Stephen Whitburn will lose.

Please turn out to vote this Tuesday, June 3. I especially urge you to cast ballots for Mayoral candidate Jerry Sanders; District 3 City Council candidate Todd Gloria; State Assembly candidate Marty Block; Superior Court Judge candidate Gary Haehnle; candidate for college board Dwayne Crenshaw; candidates for school board John Evans, Richard Barrera and Sheila Jackson; District 7 City Council candidate Marti Emerald; and City Attorney candidate Michael Aguirre.

Also, vote “yes” on city propositions A, B and C.

Congratulations to those organizations turning out the GLBT vote: The Center, Stonewall Young Democrats, the Log Cabin Republicans, GLBT Vote 2008, the San Diego Democratic Club and the Gay & Lesbian Times.

I was scheduled to leave last Friday for Salt Lake City and my doctors made me postpone the trip until Saturday. The GLBT community in Salt Lake City has grown larger and more visible since the last time I visited. It is influential enough to have a good relationship with Mayor Ralph Becker, state representatives (including an openly gay one) and state senators. The Pride parade there has become a major event in the city.

Utah is a beautiful state to visit. The community’s leaders, activists and businesspeople rolled out the red carpet for me. Midwesterners are always so hospitable. In my speech, I talked about remembering all of our veterans, particularly those serving in silence. I spoke about the 1,800 veterans who die each day in our country and the need for more support and assistance for all of our veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of San Diego’s most respected citizens, Benjamin F. Dillingham III, was recently honored in the state capital as Veteran of the Year at a special event honoring outstanding veterans throughout California. Dillingham is a decorated, proud former marine captain and one of the highest ranking gay appointees to the county’s Veterans Advisory Council, where he speaks on many issues, including issues facing GLBT veterans. He was unanimously appointed to the council by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

The Sacramento event was hosted by chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Assemblymember Mary Salas. Dillingham was recommended for the recognition by our own popular Assemblymember Lori Saldaña.

I come from a generation where GLBT people were beaten and killed and constantly verbally harassed with the words “faggot” and “queer” ringing loudly in their ears. We all know that today these words are still used by those who hate us to demean us. I’ve always tried to understand the logic of our younger generation embracing the word “queer,” but for many of us it’s very unsettling and brings back ugly memories. Now, some in our community are using the word “faggot” more frequently; there’s even a new type of music, “faggot music.” This is all too much for me. We use the words, but get upset when the governor talks about “girlie men.” Similarly, some members of the black community use the “n” word, but don’t allow anyone outside their race to use it. Now, some of our organizations and activists are using the word “queer” in public speeches and in the media to describe people in the community. But we’re angry when other people use it? We can’t have it both ways. That’s just my opinion.

The 2008 Wall of Honorees inductees have been announced and they are the late Dr. Michael Clark and Fred Achenson. Living honorees inducted on to the wall will be Phylis Jackson, George Murphy and Larry Baza. One final honoree still needs to be confirmed before the Aug. 15 ceremony. As founder of the Wall of Honor, I am proud of the selection committee and The Center, and I’d like to congratulate all the honorees.

If the Nicky Awards had a category for best dentist, I believe Dr. Jeffrey Keeny would have won hands down. In the last month, I’ve had two dental emergencies, both before I was scheduled to leave for speaking engagements, and he fixed me up in time to make my flights. He and his staff are friendly and professional and the prices are very reasonable. Dr. Keeny has been in San Diego for decades and is a proud member of the community. I highly recommend him: 1807 Robinson Avenue, Suite 101, 619-295-1512.

As you know, I have had to take a number of trips to the hospital. I will not judge one awful experience at Mercy Hospital’s emergency room on the entire hospital and staff. I must say, though, I have never had a bad experience at the UCSD hospital. This week I had to check in once again to UCSD hospital and the entire medical staff was outstanding. Everything turned out as well as it could. They did have problems knocking me out, and I still think I didn’t go completely under. My recent medical problems give me a small glimpse into the lives and constant medical procedures of my friend living with cancer and HIV/AIDS. They truly endure so much and I marvel at their stamina. A word to the wise (all you men and women out there): get your annual check up for cancer.