October 15th, 1997 to October 21st, 1997

A diplomatic move- Hormel to Luxembourg?

News analysis by Bob Roehr

James C. Hormel has been nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg by President Clinton. He is the first openly gay or lesbian person selected for such a post. The position requires Senate confirmation, a process controlled by the Foreign Relations Committee headed by notorious homophobe Jesse Helms.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a tiny nation of 400,000 wedged between France, Belgium, and Germany. It is regarded as the ripest of patronage plums because of its choice European location and distinctly limited job demands

Relations with Luxembourg are not exactly a cauldron of boiling high-profile and high-impact issues. The ambassador is inevitably a political appointee who has made a substantial contribution to his presidential patron.

Hormel, 64 and heir to the meat-packing fortune built on Spam, makes his home in San Francisco. He is a noted philanthropist, including a $500,000 donation to the San Francisco Public Library to help create the gay and lesbian center which bears his name.

He has given generously to Democratic political candidates, more than $125,000 in the last two years alone. Many of his largest checks were written at the request of Vice President Al Gore. He could become caught up in the congressional investigation now swirling around Gore and White House fundraising. There is no indication that Hormel did anything illegal but the controversy may have an effect on the nomination.

The White House press release announcing the nomination stressed Hormel's earlier service in positions such as the Alternative Representative of the U.S. Delegation to the 51st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Most did not require Senate confirmation and are largely honorific. They have come in the last three years. Nowhere did the release mention gay issues.

Hormel's name was floated in 1994 as a possible Ambassador to the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. But that trial balloon popped when Republicans gained control of the Senate in the November elections and Clinton made a sharp turn to the right. He fired Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and talk of Hormel's nomination ceased. Fiji also opposed have a gay ambassador.

Perhaps one of the strongest things the nomination has going for it this time is the bipartisan tradition of using Luxembourg as a dumping ground for fat-cat contributors. Lack of experience and ability has never been a deterrent for confirmation to this post. And Clinton, by his earlier appointments of Hormel to UN and other assignments, has created a paper resume of diplomatic experience superior to that of past occupants of this embassy. It will be tough to deny him the job on those grounds.

But the White House has done Hormel no favor by nominating him so late in this session of Congress. Soon after reelection the President notified all non-career ambassadors that they would be replaced. He could have nominated Hormel months ago. One effect of this delay is to strengthen Helms' hand in stalling the nomination by giving him the cover of the Senate being out of session and therefore unable to vote on it. But then Helms doesn't need grounds, as he proved with the recent nomination of William Weld as Ambassador to Mexico. The committee chair schedules hearings at his prerogative, justification not required.

An assistant to Hormel said he would not publicly comment on his nomination until after the conclusion of the confirmation process. That is common practice.

briefs

by P.J.

Airlines vs. S.F. d.p. lawsuit gets underway
Oral arguments had been scheduled for Oct. 3, and a hearing Friday marked the opening round of the lawsuit filed against San Francisco by the Air Transport Association, a major airline trade group, and the Airline Industrial Relations Conference, an industry lobby group, reports the San Francisco Examiner. The airlines hope to keep the city from enforcing regulations requiring all contractors doing business with the city to offer domestic-partnership benefits to their employees in same-sex couples which are equivalent to the benefits offered to married heterosexual couples. The ordinance went into effect June 1.

The case will be tried in U.S. District Court in Oakland; both sides were expected to seek a summary judgement Friday, to avoid a trial. A similar suit has been filed against the city by the American Center for Law and Justice, on behalf of Oakland-based general contractor PM&M Electric. The ACLJ is a conservative organization affiliated with Pat Robertson. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the case on behalf of the city and county; the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are also aiding the city.

Miss America outlines AIDS prevention platform
Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998, launched her plans to fight AIDS at a Washington, D.C., press conference Oct. 9. Shindle called on Americans to "stop the rhetoric and start taking action." A NAMES Quilt panel served for backdrop, as Shindle took stands on "condom distribution, needle exchange and open communication between parents and children about sex." A senior at Northwestern University, Shindle promised the audience of legislators, Clinton officials and national AIDS leaders that she will "focus [her] energies where the virus is spreading fastest- among minorities, women and especially among young people. White House AIDS Policy Director Sandra Thurman issued a statement commending Shindle as "a Miss America who is truly worthy of the title."

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