ABOVE: President Stephen Gaskill (2nd from L) and members of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus with state Rep. Amy Mercado (3rd from L) during Lobby Days this year in Tallahassee. (Photo from Caucus’ Twitter)
ORLANDO | With less than two weeks until the state’s presidential primary, the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus will gather at the Marriott Orlando Airport Lakeside Hotel in Orlando for its 2020 winter conference March 6-8.
Themed “All in to Win in 2020,” the caucus hopes to stoke excitement among Florida Democrats in a pivotal area of a battleground swing state.
“Orlando is key in a state that is needed by Dems if we are going to take back The White House in November,” says Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus President Stephen Gaskill. “Orlando is right in the middle of Central Florida and that’s where elections are won and loss. We felt it was important to come into Orlando, which is very LGBTQ friendly, and really talk about our issues and highlight our community with the attention of the political press being focused there.”
Florida’s LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus has 21 chapters across the state, several of which have been formed in the past year in predominantly red counties, and include this year’s conference host — the Orange County chapter of The Rainbow Democrats.
“We bring together about 100 activists from around the state twice a year, activists and allies, to discuss LGBTQ issues in the state and nationally,” Gaskill says. “We’ll hear from candidates, community leaders and elected officials. It’s always a really exciting and energizing event.”
The conference will kick off on Friday, March 6, with a welcome reception from 6:30-8:30 p.m., but the bulk of the schedule will take place all day Saturday, March 7, starting with breakfast and opening remarks from Florida Democratic Party (FDP) Chair Terrie Rizzo at 8 a.m.
“Terrie is a phenomenal and energetic speaker who will definitely get the excitement level up first thing in the morning as she talks about what the FDP is doing,” Gaskill says.
During the morning session, guests will also hear from Gaskill, Rainbow Democrats President Brandon Nelson and Orange County Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) Chair Wes Hodge.
The day’s first presentation will be from Carol Cleaver — a science teacher, member of the Escambia Education Association Teacher’s Union and Vice President of the Emerald Coast Equality LGBTA Democratic Caucus — and will focus on the driving forces behind discrimination in Florida schools.
“LGBTQ discrimination in Florida’s schools is such a huge issue right now with the voucher issue and we are seeing how that is playing out in Tallahassee, so we will have a discussion about that,” Gaskill says.
The school voucher issue began earlier this year when the Orlando Sentinel reported that the state’s Step Up for Students voucher system sent $129 million in school vouchers to 156 private Christian schools with anti-LGBTQ views. Several companies withdrew donations after the investigation was made public.
Another topic of discussion at the conference will center around terminology in the community with a presentation titled “What Does That Mean? Non-Binary, Genderqueer and the New Language of the LGBTQ+ Movement,” led by the caucus’ Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Reign Hervey.
“This presentation is an outgrowth of our entire focus on diversity and inclusion,” Gaskill says. “It’s important that we have knowledge and an understanding of the terms our community is using.”
The morning session will conclude with a series of guest speakers including Pulse Ribbon Project founder Ben Johansen, Caucus treasurer Adam Sabin and Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who will speak during the day’s luncheon.
“[Sheehan] has been a longtime part of our caucus. She helped us form the organization in the early days,” Gaskill says. “Several of the iterations of the Orange County chapter she was always involved in that so getting to hear from her is a thrill and she is always exciting to listen to.”
Also scheduled to attend the luncheon will be “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon, a surrogate for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
The afternoon session will begin with a Tallahassee Legislative update. First on the state of the House from Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and then on the state of the Senate from Florida Sen. Annette Taddeo.
“The conference is one week before the session ends so there will be a lot going on and it will be important to hear from both of these lawmakers to see where we are headed as a state and as a community,” Gaskill says.
Two panel discussions are scheduled for the afternoon session. The first will look at the issues and challenges for Florida’s transgender community. The panel will consist of Nathan Bruemmer, former executive director of ALSO Youth and frequent Watermark contributor; Ricki Bauman, assistant secretary of the caucus; and Gina Duncan, Equality Florida’s director of transgender equality.
The second panel will involve the team behind Convert to Love, a movement to ban conversion therapy in Orange County. The panel will consist of Eric Rollings, Convert to Love organizer; Heather Wilkie, executive director of the Zebra Coalition; Jennifer Foster, CEO of One Orlando Alliance; and Stephanie Preston-Hughes, a therapist from Orange Counseling.
The evening’s cocktail reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the leadership dinner starts at 7:30 p.m. The dinner’s keynote speaker will be U.S. Rep. Val Demings.
“She was one of the House impeachment managers,” Gaskill says. “She has a national profile, is an amazing speaker and has a sense of what’s happening in Congress and in Washington. She has an intriguing and insightful perspective on the Trump administration so I am really looking forward to her remarks.”
Dr. Jill Biden, representing the Joe Biden campaign, and executive editor of Out Magazine and founder of Black Trans Circles Raquel Willis, representing the Elizabeth Warren campaign, will also be speaking.
For more information on the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus 2020 winter conference and to see who else will be speaking at the leadership dinner, visit LGBTQDems.org/All-In-To-Win-In-2020-Attend-Our-Winter-Conference.