Long
before
he
became
the
gay
liaison
for
Sen.
John
Kerry’s
presidential
bid,
Tom
Daley
knew
that
Kerry
was
the
candidate
he
planned
to
support.
Daley
said
the
Massachusetts
senator
has
a
long
track
record
of
supporting
gay
rights
issues,
dating
back
to
1985,
“long
before
it
was
fashionable”
to
lend
political
support
to
gay
rights
causes.
“This
isn’t
just
a
guy
talking
about
it,
he
was
doing
it
before
anyone
else
told
him
to
do
it,”
Daley
said.
Daley’s
journey
into
presidential
politics
came
after
an
extensive
background
in
business
and
followed
a
phone
call
from
a
good
friend,
Bob
Farmer.
Farmer,
who
is
gay
and
serving
as
the
Kerry
campaign’s
national
treasurer,
asked
Daley
if
he’d
be
willing
to
join
the
campaign
to
raise
money
from
gay
and
lesbian
contributors.
This
is
the
second
in
a
series
about
gays
playing
liaison
roles
in
the
campaign
organizations
for
Democratic
presidential
candidates
and
their
views
on
why
their
chosen
candidate
should
receive
gay
votes.
Gays
play
key
roles
in
Gephardt
campaign
Elmendorf
joins
Mixner,
Gephardt’s
lesbian
daughter
By
LOU
CHIBBARO
JR.
Friday,
January
09,
2004
|
|
|
“Bob
called
me
out
of
the
blue
one
day
and
said,
‘John
may
run,
would
you
be
interested
in
joining
the
campaign,’”
Daley
said.
“Knowing
Bob
well
enough
and
his
track
record,
especially
his
track
record
on
gay
and
lesbian
issues,
I
knew
this
was
important.”
Farmer
served
as
the
counsel
general
to
Bermuda
during
the
Clinton
administration.
Daley,
37,
said
that
technically,
Farmer
was
the
first
openly
gay
ambassador,
but
he
was
appointed
and
did
not
have
to
face
a
confirmation
hearing
in
Congress.
Daley
has
faced
some
ups
and
downs
in
his
position
as
gay
liaison
to
Kerry.
In
September,
Campbell
Spencer
—
Kerry’s
first
gay
liaison
—
left
during
a
campaign
shakeup
that
resulted
in
the
firing
of
Kerry’s
campaign
manager.
Daley
said
that
the
Kerry
campaign
reduced
its
gay
liaison
from
full-time
to
part-time
status
at
the
request
of
Spencer,
who
served
as
President
Clinton’s
gay
liaison
and
who
still
plays
an
advisory
role
at
the
Kerry
campaign.
Daley
said
that
Spencer’s
departure
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
firing
of
Kerry’s
campaign
manager,
and
that
the
timing
was
coincidental.
Daley,
who
lives
in
Arlington,
Va.
and
works
as
a
consultant
for
Hotels.com,
said
he
completely
backs
Kerry’s
positions
on
gay
issues,
even
his
stance
opposing
gay
marriage.
Kerry
has
said
that
marriage
should
be
between
one
man
and
one
woman
but
has
endorsed
civil
unions
or
domestic
partnerships
as
an
alternative.
“I
do
agree
with
John
on
this
issue,”
said
Daley,
who
is
a
volunteer
for
the
Kerry
campaign.
“I’m
one
of
those
believers
that
substance
is
more
important
than
the
name
it
is
called
and
I
think
a
lot
of
people
fall
into
that
category.”
When
asked
about
Kerry’s
response
to
his
home
state’s
high
court
ruling
that
many
say
will
legalize
gay
marriage
in
Massachusetts,
Daley
said
Kerry
is,
“right
there
with
it.”
“He
was
curious
what
my
opinion
was
and
what
the
impression
was
of
folks
out
there,”
Daley
said.
“He
was
interested
in
getting
some
feedback
from
his
advisers
and
the
people
that
this
affects.
We
spent
more
than
a
few
minutes
on
it.”
Kerry
fights
Dean
for
gay
support
According
to
recent
polls,
former
Vermont
Gov.
Howard
Dean
is
in
a
dead
heat
with
Congressman
Dick
Gephardt
of
Missouri,
and
Kerry
is
now
in
a
tight
race
for
third
with
North
Carolina
Sen.
John
Edwards,
just
days
before
next
week’s
caucuses.
Daley
said
that
Iowa
will
be
a
crucial
test
for
Kerry,
who
has
dropped
form
first
to
third
in
New
Hampshire,
behind
Dean
and
former
Gen.
Wesley
Clark.
 |
| Democratic
Party
presidential
candidate
John
Kerry
speaks
to
a
group
in
Iowa
this
week,
where
the
latest
polls
put
him
in
striking
distance
for
the
lead.
The
Iowa
caucuses
kick
off
the
selection
of
delegates
to
the
Democratic
Party’s
national
nominating
convention
this
summer.
(Photo
by
Charlie
Riedel/AP) |
“We
have
set
out
to
win,”
Daley
said.
“Kerry’s
been
in
this
position
before.
It’s
reminiscent
of
when
he
went
against
Bill
Weld
in
[the
1996
race
for
Senate
in]
Massachusetts.
John
is
working
harder
than
he’s
ever
worked.”
When
asked
how
Daley
sells
Kerry
to
gay
voters
—
many
of
whom
have
flocked
to
the
campaign
of
Howard
Dean,
who
signed
historic
civil
union
legislation
while
governor
of
Vermont
—
Daley
acknowledges,
“We’re
up
against
a
strong
voice”
but
added
that
“Kerry
has
that,
too.”
“We
[gay
rights
issues]
are
not
going
to
be
another
issue
on
the
platform.
That
was
important
to
me.
I
did
not
want
to
get
involved
in
a
campaign
for
the
sake
of
it,”
Daley
said.
“Howard
Dean
has
spent
a
lot
of
time
courting
the
gay
vote
and
continues
to
spend
a
lot
of
time
courting
the
community.
That’s
where
his
...
