Saturday  30 May 1998  Dear Activists, Delegates, Friends and Supporters:  For the past eight years it has been my honor and privilege to serve as Executive Director of LIFE Lobby, California's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and HIV/AIDS Lobby.

Every year a small number of legislative measures emerge as the "big issues". Lobbyists consider themselves lucky to work on such a measure once or twice in a career. I had the unique opportunity to work on four: AB 101, the Fair Employment and Housing non-discrimination bill (vetoed, 1991), AB 2601, the Labor Code non-discrimination bill (signed, 1992), the Domestic Partners bill (vetoed, 1994), and the defeat of anti-gay marriage legislation (the first two such measures in 1996). 

Although we must never stop working for the inclusion of our non-discrimination protections under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, I am still proudest of the enactment of our Labor Code protections. Even as we wrote the legislation we knew it wasn't the equivalent of AB 101.  But we were determined to get some protections codified into law. We had no idea how prescient that turned out to be. 

Shortly after enacting AB 2601, two things happened. First, state courts decided that local non-discrimination ordinances were invalid. Second, the court case that was the basis of including sexual orientation protections under the Labor Code was de-publ ished (thus no longer a precedent). So despite its flaws, the Labor Code protections now stand alone as a guardian for our rights in the workplace. 

Other legislation did not receive the same media hype, but certainly stand out in my memory as lifetime achievements. Chief among them include work on California's CARE Act Statewide working Group; increasing appropriations for AIDS funding and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP); the long, torturous road to a law mandating AIDS education in the schools (5 vetoes!); and the year-in, year-out battles against the idiotic (mandatory testing, quarantine, no promo homo, yada yada yada). 

All in all, it is an incredible legacy of success, one that can be measured in both the bills we were able to fashion and pass, as well as those we were able to stop. 

It was my honor to work with outstanding legislators and advocates throughout.   We were helped along the way by the solidarity of the Black and Latino caucuses. Members of both were frequently targeted by the rabid right, sometimes finding their office phone lines jammed for days on end.  Fortunately for us, they recognized the hate for what it was. 

More recently we have been blessed with the election of two open lesbians to the State Assembly, Sheila Kuehl and Carole Migden. Both are gifted legislators, representing their districts, as well as our issues, in exemplary fashion. We have also seen t he rise of new legislative champions. Chief among these are Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and Senate Pro Tem John Burton. 

There is not enough space here to list all the legislative staff who have been part of this history. Yet one, now Chief of Staff to Senator John Vasconcellos, stands out from all the rest. First, Rand Martin was my predecessor at LIFE Lobby. Then he was key staff for Terry Friedman on the two non-discrimination bills. And every day before, during, and after he finds ways to further our work. 

Other lobbyists and coalitions deserve mention as well. Francisco Lobaco and Matt Coles at the ACLU, Jon Davidson and Jenny Pizer at Lambda Legal Defense, the lobbyists from NOW and MALDEF and the unions, the AIDS Budget Coalition, the other coalitions t hat sprang up around health access issues... so many advocates, all willing to share their expertise and passion in the pursuit of sound public policies. 

Yet day-in and day-out LIFE Lobby was served by dedicated advocates of its own. Each did all that was asked of them, and more. Each added their own extraordinary accomplishments.   A special word of thanks is due Rodney Scott, our Development Consultant, and Sam Catalano, our Operations Manager. Rodney created successful events, each memorable for their grace and good feeling. Sam brought us (sometimes kicking and screaming) out o f organizational chaos. 

The donors of LIFE Lobby helped keep the doors open. Christopher Street West, The Bay Area Non-Partisan Alliance, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, Elections Committee of the County of Orange (ECCO), and Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Pride are a few of the outstanding delegate organizations who lent not only leaders, but strong financial support.  Two individual donors stand out in particular: Bob Craig and Jim Hormel, both long-time friends and philanthropists extraordinaire. 

Last, but certainly not least, I thank each of you for being part of that legacy, in the role of Board member, LIFE Lobby Delegate and/or activist.  Thank you for allowing us to work on your behalf. It has been my privilege to meet, and in many cases befriend, some of the very best people in our movement. 

This particular transition -- the closing of LIFE Lobby -- has been a most difficult time for all involved. Too much rumor, too much finger pointing, even a conspiracy theory or two. But ultimately that does little to honor the work we have done togethe r... and even less toward taking up the tasks left undone. 

Analyzing past mistakes should have only one goal: increasing the sophistication and savvy of our movement in the future. For those of us who grieve the loss of LIFE Lobby, a thousand "what if" scenarios play out in our minds every day. The work we did so well as a lobby was never matched in visibility or in fundraising. Why? The answers are not simple. Yet the lessons we learn from this trauma hold the key to our future endeavors. 

We must build on the legacy of success. The work must go on. We must take every scrap of hard fought knowledge to work in strengthening our statewide work. Our equality, the recognition of our families, the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS -- all this is at stake. 

If you have questions or concerns about particular legislative issues, please check with the offices of Sheila Kuehl and Carole Migden. I've sent LIFE's Civil Rights legislative list to Sheila Kuehl (and Jen Richard in her office), and the HIV/healthcar e list to Carole Migden (and Alan Lofaso in her office). 

In the immediate future your Lobby staff is scattering... Ellen has been accepted to law school, Eric and Sam Catalano are both looking for work in the Capitol - as legislative aides or lobbyists. For me personally, it's time for a break... to take car e of my own serious health concerns, spend quality time with my loving partner, Donna Yutzy... and heal on many levels. 

Thank you for your passion and commitment to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and HIV/AIDS movements. Keep up the great work. And may the days ahead bless each of us with greater wisdom, understanding and success in all our endeavors. 

All the best, 

Laurie McBride 
LIFE Lobby & Institute 
E-mail: life.info@lifelobby.org