From the Editor: More than an election

Holly Hatch is a former editor of OFM.

The air is thick with tension as election season falls upon us – neighborhoods speckled with political yard signs and flags, airwaves blasted with pointed advertisements hoping to give people a reason to care about government and their role in it once again. Some feel the spirit, others are cynical. Some can’t wait for the election to be over. But there’s a feeling of responsibility that this is the time that we, the people, can steer the direction of local and national government.

Because our voice – our vote – allows us to create our future.

Our votes are one of the clearest ways we can affect change. Young activists are popping up and showing their energy. With eager smiles and stuffed clipboards, they stroll grocery store parking lots, surprise outside department stores and bars, approach you during weekend strolls on 16th Street Mall with a common goal: get you to vote!

It’s different from the clipboard-wielding canvassers we see during any year or season, asking for money for needy children or to keep Green Peace boats afloat – forcing us to choose between putting that extra $20 a month toward popcorn at the movies or a higher cause. This time they’re asking for something we can only either use now, or waste: our votes.

I was too young to vote when Al Gore was running against George W. Bush, but knocked on doors to boost the Democratic ticket in my hometown of Fort Collins. I spent hours stuffing envelopes and days helping to organize political brunches and rallies.

I haven’t been involved at that level since. But what I realized is that though I am not canvassing and talking to strangers, politics are inextricable from my life.

Working at Out Front, I’m constantly surrounded by political conversations, press releases, news stories and accounts from community members about issues that are personal. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no wonk; I know little of the jargon or inner workings of a campaign. I have my trusty co-workers to help fill in the blanks – Matt Pizzuti and Nic Garcia – who spout names, records, positions and intricate details regarding our local and national governments.

I’m pretty lucky. I don’t have to research the facts behind campaign rhetoric because I’m working alongside informed organizations and peers, 50 hours a week.

I have the best of both worlds.

At Out Front, our political activism is less about rallying or door-to-door persuasion and more being a part of an organization that helps readers know their role in the issues that affect them, and what others in the community – Republicans, Democrats, independents and anyone else – are saying about the choices we face. In this issue, our elections coverage begins on page 24 and is one of the most expansive political guides we’ve done.

From details on ballot measures and profiles on the record number of out LGBT candidates running for the legislature, to the differences between presidential candidates on LGBT rights, we’ve given our best shot at creating a guide to help you discern the power of your vote, at all levels.

Hopefully you’ll gain some insights on your choice – because let’s face it, politics are now, as much as ever, real factors in our lives.

Though I yearn to re-discover my grassroots activist self – put on the back-burner by Out Front’s decision to focus on multiple perspectives – I know through the conversations we have that we’re still connected to the grassroots. Your grassroots. Democrat or Republican. Religious or nonreligious. Christian or Buddhist. Straight ally or gay. Trans or cisgendered. We are a platform for our whole community.

And that community is a fiery one. As Out Front’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Ellis McFadden said, our community is full of activists.

In the end, it’s our personal experiences, personal voices and personal efforts that create change, not talking points or campaign spin. It wasn’t a top-down partisan campaign that first put LGBT issues on the map.

But they are on it. At last, political leaders are standing up for our rights: This year President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president in history to announce support for marriage equality and to oppose federal laws that explicitly make LGBT people unequal. For the first time, a major political party has endorsed same-sex marriage in its national platform. Out lawmakers are fighting for fairer laws at home in Colorado, and out candidates from both major parties are signaling advances in LGBT representation.

We’re represented more than ever now – and have more opportunities than ever to make real choices with our votes rather than endless judgment calls between “the lesser of two evils” on LGBT rights. Our decisions are instead on how to weigh candidates’ positions on LGBT rights with positions on other issues we care about – a decision that can still be difficult, but that we at Out Front have thorough respect for, no matter how you choose.

After years of grassroots activism from the outside, we are finally in, making this year’s election more profound for us than any previous one. We have a vote to create a future, making our politics not just personal but universal – both rhetorical and concrete. There’s no better reason to get involved and educate, debate, persuade and vote – to be on the active side in creating a better tomorrow.

Starting maybe with your stories.