A little help from my friends - Inside Politics - gay congressional candidate Henry Perritt, Illinois - Brief Article

An openly gay Democratic congressional candidate in a potentially tight race could reasonably be expected to win the endorsement of prominent gay rights groups. But such support has not been forthcoming for Henry "Hank" Perritt, who is challenging freshman U.S. Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R) in Illinois' 10th Congressional District.

After a tough fight two years ago for an open seat, Kirk is favored to win re-election in 2002. Kirk's moderate voting record seems a good fit for the district's Chicago-area suburban residents. Still, the district supplied the country's second most expensive congressional race in 2000, a $15 million bloodbath in which Kirk edged out Democrat Lauren Beth Gash by less than 6,000 votes out of nearly 238,000 cast.

Perritt, dean of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, could potentially provide a strong challenge to the freshman congressman, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats' campaign arm, has cited Kirk as a vulnerable incumbent.

Yet the race has attracted little interest from gay-rights groups. The Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights PAC with 400,000 members nationwide, endorsed Kirk for the second time. When Perritt met with the HRC's leaders to apply for its endorsement, Winnie Stachelberg, the group's political manager told him endorsing gay candidates isn't part of the gay agenda.

"HRC has a rigorous endorsement process," she said. "Sexuality is one factor we consider - but it's only a factor."

She added: "Having gays and lesbians in office is important, but less important than moving the whole agenda forward," Stachelberg says. "Kirk has gone beyond co-sponsorship in supporting gay rights. He's a crusader for equal rights."

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a nonpartisan PAC, also refused to support Perritt when he applied in January.

"We don't endorse statewide candidates with no elective experience," said Jason Young spokesman for the group.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), who is openly gay, has his doubts about how high Kirk will hold the banner.

"Moderate Republicans will support us when it doesn't affect them," Frank said in February, meeting with Chicago's branch of the Stonewall Democrats, a gay branch of the party. "But they're not there when they're afraid of losing. They'll say they support 'ice in the winter.'

The Democrats in the House on their worst day, were better than the Republicans on their best day."

Perritt has done nothing to hide or downplay his sexual orientation on the trail. His partner of 17 years, Mitchell Bergeman, often accompanies him on campaign stops.

Jeremy Bayer, Perritt's campaign manager, dismisses the role of sexuality in the race.

"It's not an issue right now, and by no means are we going to make it an issue," Bayer says. "That isn't to say that the gay community isn't cheering him on. It's lust like the support you'd get from your old team if you played baseball in college."

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