A new program highlighting a different influential lesbian, bisexual or transgender woman each month kicked off June 9 at The Women’s Resource Center at The Center with Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins as the featured guest. Called “Coffee and Conversation with Cool Women”, the event drew approximately 25 people to hear Atkins talk candidly about her life and career, and gave them the opportunity to ask questions of the popular District 3 council member.

“If you were to ask me [about] the things that affected my life, I would say first and foremost it would be being born into a poor family; a working class family,” said Atkins, who was born and raised in Virginia. “That affected my life more than anything else. I sort of feel like [author] Dorothy Allison, ‘Hey, being a lesbian got me out of there.’ That was not a thing that held me back or put me in a difficult position; it was very freeing.”

A political science major in college, Atkins said she got into politics partly through happenstance; after relocating to San Diego and working as a community organizer at a local women’s health clinic, she joined on to Christine Kehoe’s campaign for City Council District 3.

“To me, that was political; it was an activist sort of thing to get the first open lesbian elected to the city council,” Atkins said.

Once there, the opportunity to address working class issues like housing, living wage legislation and community improvement got her hooked, and people started to push her to run for office. Longtime connections in the women’s, healthcare, pro-choice and GLBT communities helped make her first campaign for City Council District 3 a success.

“It’s not writing papers about positions – it’s really walking, phoning and making contact with voters,” she said. “… It really takes a love of people and a desire and initiative to do the work – you don’t have to come with experience.”

Holding political office is immensely demanding of time, and having a recognizable face around town means that even off-hours can be spent talking to the public about various issues and concerns, all of which Atkins said are minor details to an immensely rewarding job.

“It feels to me like the general public is very distrusting of elected officials, and that just kills me,” she said. “… I have many days where however I vote I am making some people unhappy and some people happy, and it’s just a hard thing to do. Most people do this for the right reasons; they really want to make a difference. I will tell you, it’s a hard job; it takes its toll, but I absolutely love it. … When people tell me stuff that doesn’t sound right, I have the ability to question it; I have the ability to figure out what’s really going on and try and make a difference – it’s a great job.”

Though Atkins is widely viewed as a leader on the city council in the fight for affordable housing, has chaired the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee and has won awards for her work improving infrastructure throughout the district, some critics have panned her as focusing exclusively on GLBT issues.

“It comes up again and again,” Atkins said. “Getting appointed deputy mayor, there was a person who came down to protest that. We can’t even do a Youth Pride resolution that someone doesn’t come complain… but I think Chris [Kehoe] set a good legacy in terms of really focusing on neighborhood issues.”

Regardless, Atkins captured 62 percent of the vote over John Hartley in the March primary election, avoiding a costly runoff election in November and securing the District 3 seat for another four years.

Atkins encouraged more GLBT women and men to run for office, and added that, with District 3’s diverse cross-section of ethnicities and demographics, a GLBT person of color would be an ideal representative strategically. She also reminded the audience of the need to expand GLBT community focus to other districts and elected positions. “Just because we have one African American on the city council doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have two,” she said. “…If we want to hold onto a seat, it may not necessarily be the District 3 seat. We should be looking at District 2, and we should really be looking at all of the alternatives and options.”

For those that are interested in getting involved politically and running for office, Atkins recommended working on a political campaign, working in a council, congressional or state office or community group, or joining a community planning committee. She added that marketing any and all professional skills enhances success. Emily’s List (for women) and the Victory Fund provide training for political candidates.

When asked when she will run for mayor of San Diego, Atkins replied that she does not feel ready, and added that it is easier to move from a political seat like District 3, which represents 160,000 people, to a state Assembly or Senate position representing a slightly larger constituency; the mayor of San Diego represents 1.3 million people.

“I look at it and I try to think who our progressive mayor will be,” she said. “I’m trying to be strategic. I’m a woman, I’m a lesbian – are we ready to do that yet? Our desire does not necessarily match with what is actually pragmatic and true. My goal first and foremost is to find a progressive person that can withstand the scrutiny citywide.”

With the GLBT community’s historically low voter turnout, and young women having the lowest voter turnout of any demographic nationwide, Atkins recommended that each person round up five or 10 friends, make sure they register to vote, and call them on election day to ensure they go to the polls.

“Really, we do make a difference; one vote can make a difference, particularly in these races we’re looking at,” she said, citing Kehoe’s campaign for state Senate in which she is up against conservative Republican Larry Stirling. “… If you want Chris to continue to be in office, we’ve got our work cut out for us, because if Arnold Schwarzenegger comes down and does one fundraiser [for Stirling] like he did for Shirley Horton, and raises $250,000 in one fundraiser, Chris needs our help.”

In July, Atkins will attend a three-week session at the Kennedy School at Harvard, a prestigious leadership-training program for business, government and elected officials to combine academic and professional experience and devise new procedures to make government policy more effective. Atkins said she hopes to bring housing issues to the table.

Upcoming Coffee and Conversation with Cool Women guests include Danielle LoPresti, a local activist and leader of the band Danielle LoPresti and the Masses, on July 16; Carolina Ramos, regional director of Bienestar, on August 11; Tracie O’Brien, coordinator of the Transgender Health Project at Family Health Centers, on September 8; Suzann Gage, founder of the Lesbian Health Clinic, on October 13; and Abby Schwartz, founder of Siren, on November 10. For more information about upcoming events at the Women’s Resource Center, contact Claudia Lucero at (619) 692-2077 ext. 206.