Two Weeks to South Bay Pride -
Pass the Word!

South Bay Pride is Honoring the Love and
Committment of our LGBT Couples!

For Tom Felkner and Bob Lehman, it was love at first sight. That was 15 years ago when they met in Chicago. Bob was a Marine recruiter who had served in the Persian Gulf War as an artillery sergeant and Tom was a marketing executive at the headquarters of Andersen Consulting (now called Accenture). A few years later, the two moved to San Diego which was an area Bob had loved since being stationed at CampPendleton. Tom and Bob are now small business owners and co-founders of the Stonewall Citizens' Patrol which helps provide safety within San Diego's gay neighborhoods. Tom is also a Commissioner for the City of San Diego's Human Relations Commission as appointed by Mayor Sanders. Tom and Bob have been activists within the gay community since moving to San Diego. In 2000, Tom was the San Diego County Co-chair to defeat the anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 22. Although that battle was lost, the two have remained steadfast in fighting for marriage equality. Tom is once again San Diego County Co-chair to defeat the anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 8 and Bob is on the committee. Tom and Bob were the first gay couple to be married in San Diego County. Officiating the ceremony was Bob's brother, Jeff, a retired Marine and included Bob's brother, who served in the Navy. The evening of their wedding, Tom and Bob held a community-wide wedding reception honoring all couples who had married or filed licenses that first day.

Pat Washington met the love of her life Maggie Allington at Binghamton University in the late 1980s - early 1990s when Pat was a graduate student and Maggie was an affirmative action professional for the University. They have been together 16 years and are the proud grandparents of Morgan Washington, soon to be 14 years old and, they hope, headed to college when the time comes. Pat and Maggie moved to the San Diego area in 1992 and is a well known and charasmatic speaker for the GLBT and African-American communities.

Pat and Maggie were married at City Hall on Pacific Highway in June, but will have their public wedding celebration on September 6th in their home. For them the fight for Marriage Equality is important for both their immediate family, and also, for the ways in which we can help insure Morgan's future access to their assets from their life long hard work.  They also believe that Marriage Equality takes us one step closer to valuing and recognizing the validity of other families, including families headed by hardworking single mothers and fathers of all sexual orientations.

Pat currently speaks about No on Prop 8 (most recently for the Council of Neighborhood Councils in the Fourth District), organizes panels that include No on Prop 8 for the San Diego Democratic Women's Club, etc. Even their wedding invitation urges friends and family to vote no on Prop 8 and defeat similar ballot measures where they live and also explains some of the crucial benefits of marriage that we are fighting to protect.

---

Doug O'Donnel was visiting Madison Wisconsin to attend a family reunion for his Sicilian family when he met his future partner, Gary Klein. He stopped in a gay bar one night (Rod’s) in Madison. For the next few months Doug would visit Gary in Madison every other week until Gary came to San Diego to visit him for Thanksgiving. They agreed to become life partners on that Thanksgiving Day and continued to have a commuter relationship with Doug visiting him or vice versa every other week. At that time, Doug worked for US Airways at San Diego Airport. In 1989, Gary agreed to move to San Diego and live with Doug. The couple first lived in North Park and then Bankers Hill, during which time Gary became a computer engineer and Doug retired from US Airways and sold real estate.

It was then that Doug found himself selling a number of houses to clients in Chula Vista. Doug had actually grown up in Chula Vista and the couple fell in love with the community, sold their Bankers Hill condo and bought their home near downtown Chula Vista in August 2004.

As the years passed, they have built a stronger, loving relationship with each other by mutual respect, good communication, and a life commitment to each other. They always have their special “date night” every Friday and love the morning time on Sundays. Doug was married before and has two adult children who love and view Gary as their step father. Their friends and family are happy about the news that they were getting married. Their children actually encouraged Doug and Gary to get married. And so, having been together 20 years this November 25th, they are planning a very small intimate wedding service on October 4, 2008 in Chula Vista.

---

Jan Garbosky and Bonny Russell met 20 years ago as they worked in San Diego Unified School District to support the implementation of the Integration Court Order. Social justice has been an important focus of their lives. They have worked for equality & non-discrimination based on gender, race/ethnicity, & sexual orientation. They are now working for NO vote on Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that will prohibit gays & lesbians from marrying.

Their love blossomed as they grew to appreciate each other strengths, love of life, & commitment to justice. Sixteen years ago their commitment ceremony represented the union of their hearts. They look forward to their legal marriage on October 4, 2008, & are thrilled that justice and equality has prevailed for gays & lesbians.

Bonny retired from San Diego Unified in 2002 as an elementary school principal.  Jan retired in 2007 from Sweetwater Union High School District where she was the Director of Research & Evaluation. They love to travel, spend time with friends & family – especially their grandchildren & nieces, volunteer at church & are now planning their wedding!

They are especially proud to be involved in the creation of the new South Bay Unitarian Universalist Church (SBUUC). The first services will be held at Parkview Elementary School, 575 Juniper St., Chula Vista, CA 91911 on October 5, 2008 at 10:00 am. SBUUC is intentionally diverse and LGBT affirming.

Rudy with his wife Sylvia
and their daughter Raquel

A Champion For All Communities
By Marci Bair

Rudy Ramirez has always been a big supporter of the South Bay Alliance.  One of the first times I met Rudy was at our original South Bay Alliance Mixer when he was running for his City Council position, and he has been to almost everyone of our events since then.

Rudy has always lived in Chula Vista (except during his college years). In fact, his parents still live in the house he grew up in.  He graduated from Castle Park high school in 1978. His siblings all live in Chula Vista as well.  As you can see, he has deep roots in Chula Vista and is very dedicated to the city and its future.

Something you may not know is that our Chula Vista City Council members are not “professional” politicians, meaning they all have other professions or jobs that supplement their income because their council positions are part-time and not sufficient for their sole source of income.  As you can imagine this can be challenging in balancing the different aspects of their lives, such as family life, their business and all of their council duties and responsibilities.

 Rudy made it very clear that his family is his number one priority and he and his wife, Sylvia have a beautiful little girl age 7 who is the light of their life.  Rudy owns a Metal Fabrication business that is located in Chula Vista and Tecate that he has operated for many years.

While Rudy, the Mayor and other council members know there will still be some more financial pain that Chula Vista will experience because of the need to make more financial cuts to the budget, he is sounding very optimistic to the revitalization plans that are in the works on the older neighborhoods. In particular, he is really excited about the new University that will be breaking ground soon and the Waterfront Bay development projects that are in various stages of development, and don’t forget - we are still in the running for the new Charger’s football stadium.

What Rudy likes the best about his position as a council person is why he went into politics in the first place - helping build community and concensus building. This is also the reason he has been such a big supporter of the South Bay Alliance.  He is excited to see how diverse the Chula Vista and South Bay community is and looks forward to continuing to see Chula Vista become even more vibrant while we embrace our many cultures and people.

Since Marriage Equality is such a hot topic these days of course I had to ask him what he thought about the subject and he is 100% on board with supporting marriage equality and supports equality for everyone. Rudy is someone our community can count on to stand up and be a voice of reason and help enlighten people that still need it.

Rudy is also very interested in helping those involved in the LGBT community and the South Bay Alliance get more involved in the politics of Chula Vista as well as help educate people on how they can sit on City Boards and Commissions, and have a voice in shaping the future of the South Bay.  Be watching our newsletter for more information on how you can get involved and give back to this wonderful city.

If you have received this newsletter from a friend and want to receive your own South Bay Alliance updates