October 8th, 1997 to October 14th, 1997

Apuzzo to White House

More gays appointed to high posts

News analysis by Bob Roehr

Virginia M. Apuzzo will move to the White House as Assistant to the President for Management and Administration. The long-time lesbian activist has served the last year as an associate deputy secretary at the Department of Labor. The announcement came Oct. 1.

Apuzzo will oversee administrative functions of the White House complex and have oversight responsibilities for all agencies of the Executive Office of the President. It is not a policy making position.

Apuzzo, 56, is a former nun who has built an impressive resume in both gay activism and Democratic politics. She was executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force from 1983 to 1985. She served New York Governor Mario Cuomo as his liaison to the lesbian and gay community, on the state AIDS Advisory Council, and the Consumer Protection Board. In 1994 she was confirmed as President of the New York State Civil Service Commission.

"She has impeccable professional credentials-that she's an activist is icing on the cake," said Kerry Lobel, executive director of NGLTF.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund's Brian Bond said, "By judging applicants on their qualifications rather than their sexual orientation, President Clinton continues to set a shining example fro all fair minded employers to follow."

"We applaud this appointment as yet another step in President Clinton's promise to make his administration look like America," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Right's Campaign. "We look forward to more appointments and nominations of openly gay people in Clinton's second term."

The national gay organizations were united in calling this "the highest ranking openly gay appointed official in history." But that label is open to debate. The position does not require confirmation by the Senate, a standard criteria for evaluating pecking order in the Capital.

Keith Boykin, executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, worked in the Clinton White House. "In my opinion, it is in many ways more important to have senior positions in the White House because, whether or not anybody ever tells you, the White House runs the cabinet, they run the various agencies and departments." He believes Apuzzo's presence at those daily senior staff meetings will have an impact.

In making the appointment the Clinton administration is following what has become a standard tactic for it. It directly plays to the gay and lesbian community and receives accolades from them. But the focused action draws little attention from the mainstream, attention that might come with an appointment requiring Senate confirmation.

Access to senior officials, in this case the President, is extremely important. But access alone counts for little-what matters is what you do with that access. The substance of Apuzzo's responsibilities are smooth operations of the White House as a facility and support mechanism for the President.

Her appointment is a personal triumph. It is symbolically nice for both the gay community and the Clinton administration. It remains to be seen if she can or will use that position to directly benefit the gay and lesbian community at large.

Other appointments
Meanwhile, The Washington Blade reported Oct. 3 that "there are at least two open lesbians working on the White House staff and an openly gay man in a top policy position at the Department of Interior."

As the Blade reported, "The second-highest ranking gay people in the Clinton administration are Bruce Lehman, who was appointed during Clinton's first term as assistant secretary and commissioner of patents and trademarks at the Commerce Department, and M. John Berry, whom Clinton appointed Sept. 18 as assistant secretary of the Interior for policy, management and budget. Lehman was also appointed this year as acting chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities." Berry's appointment will require Senate confirmation-the hearing will be Oct. 9.

And also during September, the Blade reported, "Clinton appointed Karen Tramontano as deputy assistant to the president and counsel to the Office of Chief of Staff. Tramontano, who became known in D.C.'s gay community when she served in the administration of D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, will serve under John Podesta, who is deputy chief of staff for policy and political affairs."

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