Pressure is on the Democratic senator, now that his vote matters
Stachowski walks a fine line on gay marriage
ALBANY — Over 27 long years, when more than 30,000 bills hit the Senate floor, it seldom mattered whether William T. Stachowski voted yes or no, since Republicans in power didn’t need help from Democrats like him to pass legislation.
But in his 28th year in the State Senate, and with Democrats now in charge, it does matter, as Stachowski is learning in the contentious debate over whether to legalize gay marriage in New York.
How he acts on this issue could shape his political future and possibly help to extend or end it.
The problem is, no one can agree with certainty which outcome — approving or denying gay marriage — would work best for Stachowski.
It would seem that Stachowski would do best among his constituents by opposing the bill. His district stretches across South Buffalo and south to Eden and east to Cheektowaga and West Seneca — generally conservative and heavily Catholic.
That constituency is among the reasons Stachowski says he is a no vote, should the bill come to the floor of the Senate.
“I have nothing against people getting equal rights. I have a problem with the word ‘marriage’ [for gays],” Stachowski said.
Yet both sides of the issue continue to lobby him, and he is seen as a pivotal vote on the bill.
Gay-marriage supporters are running TV ads in his district. Religious leaders are reminding him of his duty to his right-leaning district.
Others warn him that he will face a Democratic primary next year if he doesn’t back the marital rights bill. And celebrities are reaching out to him, including “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, who stopped by Stachowski’s Capitol office last week to tell him why she should have the right to marry her lesbian partner.
Why all the fuss for a lawmaker who has announced his position?
Wiggle room, both sides say. He is still meeting with gay-rights advocates.
And, at times, his words are squishy.
“I know it’s very important to the people involved. Right now, I’m not able to support it,” Stachowski said.
Is there a chance he would change his mind?
“As of right now, no,” he responded.
Advocates see such answers as openings.
“People who have made up their
mind in a firm fashion don’t continue to take meetings with us if they don’t want to try to get to that place where they can vote yes,” Alan Van Capelle said shortly after he and Nixon met with Stachowski last week.
Van Capelle is executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, the chief gay-marriage advocacy group in New York.
Stachowski insists he is not feeling pressured. But he probably should, if advocates on both sides are to be believed.
“I’m sure he’s under pressure,” said Ralph Lorigo, chairman of the Erie County Conservative Party, which provided crucial backing and votes in Stachowski’s tough re-election victory last year. “I pressure him every week.”
And the other side said it has let Stachowski know they are watching.
“If he doesn’t place a yes vote when it gets down to the wire and if he doesn’t start speaking about his willingness to vote yes, he’s going to be out of office,” said Kitty Lambert, a gay constituent of the lawmaker and president of Outspoken for Equality, a gayrights group from Buffalo.
But Stachowski said calls and letters flooding in from his constituents are running against gay marriage, and he cited the many “religious factors” in his district as his chief reason for opposing the bill.
Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, the spiritual leader of the region’s Catholics, agrees.
“I would think, if he votes no on this, he will pretty well be representing his constituency,” Kmiec said in an interview with The Buffalo News.
The push and pull is only intensifying as the session nears its end.
The Assembly already has approved the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, a gay-marriage backer, said he will not bring the bill to a floor vote unless it is certain to pass with the needed 32 votes. Democrats control the chamber 32-30, meaning every Democrat is needed if the bill goes along party lines.
Supporters say Senate Democrats were eager to take in excess of $500,000 from gay-marriage advocates in last fall’s elections—giving advocates a strong wink that the Senate would advance the bill this year.
Stachowski benefited indirectly from those donations going to two umbrella Democratic accounts that funneled money to him during his tough re-election campaign.
But also an important ally in his reelection was the Erie County Conservative Party, which counts nearly 5,000 voters in the county as enrollees — the fourth largest membership of 62 Senate districts, state records show.
“He has to show the people that he represents his constituency,” said Lorigo. “I think he will do that.”
Another important ally in Stachowski’s re-election was the union-dominated Working Families Party. It brought foot soldiers into his district to knock on 26,000 voters’ doors and had 12,800 conversations with targeted voters, according to Dan Cantor, executive director of the small but influential party.
As with many unions, the Working Families Party is pushing Democrats to pass the gay marriage bill.
“I’m optimistic we’re going to persuade him,” Cantor said of Stachowski.
That would not sit well with many voters who consider themselves religious. Many of the opposition calls and letters Stachowski has received have been organized by churches, from evangelical to the Polish and Irish Catholic parishes that are scattered around his district.
Kmiec said he hopes Stachowski’s opposition to gay marriage will continue because of his past positions on social issues.
“He’s been very, very helpful in many issues in our community and things we are interested in on moral grounds,” the bishop said.
Is he convinced Stachowski’s opposition will not change?
“That would be my presumption,” Kmiec replied, “but I haven’t gotten a personal affirmation.”
Yet supporters of gay marriage insist theirs is a family values position involving people who want to get married and raise families.
“It seems to me, if I were a conservative person, I’d want to have as many people as possible to get married — gay or straight,” Nixon said.
Back home in Stachowski’s district, Lambert, the gay-rights advocate, said more than just gays will be upset if Stachowski doesn’t change his mind.
“These pink votes have strings,” she said, referring to relatives, friends and co-workers of gay people. “They realize I should have these rights.”
Lambert said she and fellow gayrights advocates worked hard last fall to help Stachowski get re-elected so the Democrats could take over the Senate.
“The disappointment is that he is legislating from a religious pulpit, which is not a healthy thing to do. It seems a lot of legislators have failed to realize they represent every one of their constituents,” she said.
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