From the Washington Blade

Gay candidate 'in the hunt' on Eastern Shore
Quinn seeks House seat in conservative Md. district

by Joshua Lynsen

Friday, October 13, 2006

Gay Maryland House of Delegates candidate Tim Quinn has found support along Maryland's mostly conservative Eastern Shore. He has a partner of 14 years. And he has a few surprises up his sleeve.

But one thing Quinn lacks is time. As the Nov. 7 election nears, Quinn was challenged to find 50 minutes to spend with a reporter.

"This is the longest time I've had to spend with one person in the past month," he said. "But I think this is a story that needs to be told."

Quinn's story, while incomplete, is one of persistence and achievement.

It started in January 2005, when he announced he would seek to represent Dorchester and Wicomico counties, areas across the bay from Annapolis.

After months of work, the campaign's defining moment came Sept. 12, when Quinn secured a primary win.

"I wasn't surprised that we won," Quinn said. "I was surprised that we were so much in the hunt. I mean, we're really in the hunt on this."

Quinn, 56, is now working to unseat 29-year-old District 37B incumbent Jeannie Haddaway, a Republican.

Haddaway, a delegate since 2003, co-sponsored Maryland's Marriage Protection Act, a failed proposal to amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Despite Quinn's efforts and optimism, some political observers see an uphill fight for the Democrat. John Willis, a director of the University of Baltimore's School of Public Affairs, said the deck is stacked against Quinn.

"It's a heavily Republican district, based on voting behavior," he said. "And challenging incumbents is tough, anyway."

Quinn is fighting to overcome that handicap. His days are consumed by canvassing, and his nights are punctuated with forum appearances. It's an aggressive plan for someone who doesn't consider himself particularly aggressive.

"But it's time to shake it up again," Quinn said. "If I'm going to win, I need to shake it up."

Grassroots campaign

Quinn's campaign, now in its 22nd month, has found success through grassroots efforts.

"I wasn't that well known and established in this district," he said. "When we started the campaign, I had only been living here about four years."

To increase his exposure -- and campaign funds -- Quinn coordinated informal events like a wine tasting and yard sale. The gatherings were successful, he said, and started a buzz about the campaign.

Quinn followed by pushing his agenda: education, better jobs and affordable health care.

The first two goals, he said, can be achieved by getting the district a long-needed technical college.

"Basically, what that will do is create an educated workforce," Quinn said. "That's what we need out here to attract businesses."

The third goal, he said, can be achieved by creating mobile health care centers. Intended for poor or rural families, the operations can be staffed by young doctors in exchange for loan payoffs.

"There are models out there to make this work," he said. "It can happen."

Quinn said such health care centers could be scattered throughout the state, but would be most valuable in areas like his sprawling district, where many residents lack easily accessible care.

"I could drive for two and a half hours, and I still haven't seen the whole district," he said. "It's huge."

Although he faces an uphill battle in his attempts to unseat a Republican in conservative territory, Quinn is unfazed.

"I get to drive the election," he said. "I get to decide what she has to deal with, and what she doesn't have to deal with."

Quinn said he's focused on Haddaway's vote against raising the minimum wage. That vote, he noted, wasn't well received in a district where family incomes can range $12,000 to $21,000 less than the state average.

"She's just playing politics," he said. "That really rubbed people the wrong way out here."

Haddaway did not immediately respond to requests from the Blade seeking comment. According to her campaign web site, Haddaway supports improved pensions and tax benefits for teachers, bringing broadband internet access to the region, protecting the Chesapeake Bay and preserving farmland. Her support for an amendment banning gay marriage is not noted on the web site.

Quinn said his campaign plans to expose other aspects of Haddaway's political career -- including certain campaign contributors -- in the weeks ahead.

"The focus on her record is going to get to her soon," he said. "She's going to have to start defending it."

For his part, Quinn has faced some unfriendly voters. He said some people can't see past his sexual orientation.

"I'm running into some kind of prejudices here and there," he said. "Most of the time it's not there, but once in a while it's there."

Willis said Quinn might be experiencing some residual bias from a 26-year-old scandal involving an Eastern Shore congressman.

Republican Rep. Edmund Bauman, a staunch conservative, was charged Oct. 3, 1980, with committing oral sodomy on a teenage boy in Washington. Voters jettisoned Bauman, a husband and father, from office the following month.

Quinn said most voters, though, don't know or don't care that he's gay.

Even when Quinn references his partner, John Dodson, 38, most people assume Quinn, who co-owns the Legal Tavern Spirits restaurant in Easton, is talking about his business partner.

"Seventy percent of the time, that's what people think," he said. "It's really quite comical."