Up for auction at the first ‘Purple Party,’ a fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign, are dates with Heather Bell, organizer Charlie Stadtlander, Brad DiFiore and Officer Darlene Harris, LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department. (Photos courtesy the Purple Party)
The color ‘Purple’ Bi-partisan party mixes red and blue to bring political activists together
TWO
GAY
POLITICAL
ACTIVISTS
hope
to
replace
the
election
season’s
red-state
blue-state
debate
with
a
new
color
—
purple.
Charles
Stadtlander,
vice
president
of
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
and
Julie
Wood,
a
Democrat
and
member
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign’s
board
of
directors,
are
trying
to
bridge
political
divides
among
gay
voters
by
throwing
a
“Purple
Party”
on
Aug.
2.
The
first
of
its
kind
in
Atlanta,
the
Purple
Party
aims
to
raise
funds
for
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
while
bringing
together
gay
Democrats
and
Republicans.
“The
vision
for
the
party
is
to
have
a
way
to
bring
together
as
one
group,
one
GLBT
community,
to
kind
of
have
a
positive
way
to
move
forward
as
a
community,”
Wood
says.
Gay
voters
differ
on
issues
from
marriage
to
hate
crimes,
and
in
Atlanta,
gay
activists
even
occasionally
work
for
opponents
of
gay
candidates.
“I
don’t
agree
with
the
premise
that
everyone
knows
each
other,”
Stadtlander
says.
“Everyone
may
know
everybody,
but
everyone
might
not
work
with
everyone.
This
is
a
chance
for
everyone
to
get
together
in
a
social
setting
and
get
to
know
each
outside
of
a
political
context.”
THE
GENESIS
FOR
THE
EVENT
was
a
bi-partisan
Hillary
Clinton
fundraiser
at
Joe’s
on
Juniper
after
Georgia’s
presidential
primary.
A
number
of
gay
Democrats
and
Republicans
donated
money
in
a
laid
back
social
setting.
After
the
annual
Atlanta
HRC
Dinner
in
May,
Stadtlander
approached
Wood
with
the
idea
of
Purple
Party.
“A
vision
that
Julie
Wood
and
I
came
up
with
after
the
HRC
dinner
was
that
there
was
a
need
to
come
together
as
one
—
Republican,
Democrats,
Independents
—
and
come
together
united
for
an
event,”
Stadtlander
says.
“As
years
go
on,
we
do
need
to
have
an
event
that
reminds
us
that
while
we
are
divided,
we
do
have
a
common
goal
and
a
common
connection,”
Wood
adds.
“We
may
differ
on
points
here
or
there,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
we
all
agree
on
advancing
the
quality
of
life
for
GLBT
people
in
Georgia,
and
across
the
country.”
To
date,
some
160
people
are
committed
to
attend
the
Aug.
2
event
at
The
Heights
at
Armour
Clubhouse.
Organizers
expect
to
reach
their
goal
of
250
to
300
attendees.
The
guest
list
includes
most
of
the
stalwart
political
allies
of
gay
rights,
including
Congressman
John
Lewis
(D-Atlanta),
Rep.
Jill
Chambers
(R-Atlanta),
Rep.
Mike
Jacobs
(R-Atlanta),
Rep.
Kathy
Ashe
(D-Atlanta),
Rep.
Pat
Garner
(D-Atlanta),
as
well
as
gay
elected
officials
Brian
Bates
of
the
Doraville
City
Council,
Decatur
City
Councilmember
Kecia
Cunningham
and
Rep.
Karla
Drenner
(D-Avondale
Estates).
The
idea
is
for
political
veterans,
as
well
as
those
interested
in
becoming
more
involved,
to
mix
in
a
fun
atmosphere.
“It’s
primarily
a
party,”
Stadtlander
says.
“There
will
be
some
speeches,
but
it’s
mostly
about
getting
together
and
having
fun,
and
to
raise
money
for
the
HRC.”
STADTLANDER
AND
WOOD
HOPE
the
party
raises
between
$5,000
and
$10,000
for
HRC
through
the
$35
cover
charge
and
a
bachelor/bachelorette
auction.
Dates
with
a
number
of
gay
luminaries
including
Stadtlander
himself,
Heather
Bell,
Brad
DiFiore,
and
Atlanta
Police
Department
LGBT
Liaison
Officer
Darlene
Harris
are
up
for
bids.
“It’s
a
little
nerve-wracking
to
know
you’re
going
to
be
on
auction,”
Stadtlander
says.
“I’ve
done
auctions
before,
and
I’ve
brought
money
before,
but
you
still
worry
about
it
a
little.”
Organizers
hope
to
make
the
event
an
annual
affair.
“Our
vision
is
to
make
it
through
Aug.
2,
but
our
goal
is
to
make
this
an
annual
event,”
Stadtlander
says.
“This
year,
the
beneficiary
is
the
HRC.
In
the
future,
if
there
is
some
other
group
who
would
like
to
work
with
us,
we’re
open
to
that
too.”
Wood
says
she
is
less
concerned
with
hitting
a
fundraising
goal
as
much
as
she
would
like
to
see
something
positive
come
out
of
the
event.
“This
the
first
time
we’ve
ever
done
this,”
Wood
says.
“I
don’t
know
what
the
outcome
will
be.
The
fundraising
is
less
important
to
me
than
the
red
and
blue
coming
together
in
purple
—
that’s
what’s
important
to
me.”
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
