Meet Pete Buttigieg’s “secret weapon” when it comes to fundraising

Meet Pete Buttigieg’s “secret weapon” when it comes to fundraising

Chasten Buttigieg on the campaign trail (Photo: @Chas10Buttigieg | Twitter)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg continues to haul in campaign donations for his 2020 White House bid compared to many of his fellow Democratic candidates. The reason: his husband Chasten.

 “He’s something of a secret weapon for this campaign,” Pete told Politico of his husband. “Chasten … really embodies a lot of the values of this campaign.”

Junior high school teacher Chasten maintains a popular Twitter account with almost half a million followers and has become a fixture at Buttigieg fundraising events. That offers a twofold advantage: in addition to furthering the cash haul, Chasten’s appearances help take the pressure off Pete to appear at every event. That affords him more time to make television appearances or speaking to voters in the field.

Related: People are loving this hope-inducing tweet from Chasten Buttigieg

Fundraising by political spouses is nothing new. In contemporary times, the bankability of spouses like Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama all helped propel their husbands to the White House, and helped solidify their reelections. Chasten Buttigieg joins the ranks of breadwinners. According to Politico’s estimates, while Mayor Pete brings in, on average, $100,000 per appearance, Chasten can net at least a third of that–quite an achievement for a spouse.

Pete Buttigieg is the first openly gay man to seek the nomination of a major political party. As such, “Chasten for First Gentleman” has become one of his campaign’s many slogans. It appears Chasten is doing his part to earn the title, which is fine by us.

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Fired Homophobic Rugby Star Israel Folau, Who Said Hell Awaits Gay People, Just Got Picked Up by a New Team

Fired Homophobic Rugby Star Israel Folau, Who Said Hell Awaits Gay People, Just Got Picked Up by a New Team

Israel Folau, the evangelical Christian Australian rugby star who was fired after social media posts that gays are going to end up in Hell, just got picked up by a new team.

CNN reports: “Disgraced former Australia rugby union star Israel Folau has signed to play rugby league for Tonga, according to reports. Folau’s contract with Rugby Australia was terminated in May after he wrote a homophobic social media post which broke code of conduct rules.”

News.com reports: “The star player’s return to rugby league was set to be with the Tonga national team in the Oceania Cup this year. Folau is unable to play for Tonga in the World Nines at Bankwest Stadium because the event is run by the NRL who have blocked a return to the code for him. The Oceania Cup is run by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) who had reportedly accepted Folau’s availability.”

Said Folau in a statement: “I don’t want to bring any of my personal matters into this and I am grateful that the RLIF have endorsed my availability. What I will do now is focus on playing great rugby league and do my talking on the field.”

RLIF however, refutes Folau’s claims:

Peter Beattie says Israel Folau playing for Tonga has not been discussed.

“The RLIF has made no decision in relation to any registration request for Israel Folau.
I can assure you that this has never been discussed or mentioned around the board table.”

— David Mark (@davymark1) September 23, 2019

The post Fired Homophobic Rugby Star Israel Folau, Who Said Hell Awaits Gay People, Just Got Picked Up by a New Team appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Fired Homophobic Rugby Star Israel Folau, Who Said Hell Awaits Gay People, Just Got Picked Up by a New Team

HRC Foundation Announces Historic LGBTQ Leadership Summits on HBCU Campuses

HRC Foundation Announces Historic LGBTQ Leadership Summits on HBCU Campuses

Today, HRC Foundation announced that it is hosting two ground-breaking summits on LGBTQ equality on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The first HRC 2019 Regional HBCU Leadership Summit took place at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, from September 20-22 and the second summit will take place at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, from October 4-6.

“This significant step forward in the Human Rights Campaign’s HBCU Program creates exciting new opportunities for campus leaders to engage more deeply on the issues of LGBTQ inclusion and equity,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “By expanding the scope of this important program, we will be able to reach more students, faculty and administrators than ever before, giving them the tools they need to make real and lasting change. We look forward to continuing our partnership with these storied institutions, and supporting the next generation of Black leaders.”

“For more than a decade, HRC’s HBCU Program has been working with campus leaders — from students and administrators to staff and faculty — to support and uplift LGBTQ people on campuses by creating and partnering in developing inclusive programming. We couldn’t be more excited to expand our work through this historic series of LGBTQ leadership summits,” said Leslie Hall, Director of HRC’s HBCU Program. “By engaging students, administrators, staff and faculty on their home turf, we hope to move the needle for LGBTQ inclusion and equity on HBCU campuses by shaping the way these important institutions provide support, services and resources to all of their students.”

In launching this series of on-campus events, HRC’s HBCU Program is taking an aggressive step to expand the work that it has been doing for more than a decade through its national annual summit for LGBTQ student leaders from HBCUs. The national five-day summit, which will take place November 7-12 at HRC’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., has been the only leadership development and advocacy training program that empowers LGBTQ HBCU students to act as change agents on their campuses and in their communities. Its model of assuring that participating students leave with the skills and competencies to lead effectively through the intersections of race, religion, gender identity and expression, class and sexual orientation is being replicated in the new series of on-campus summits.

Participants will hear from expert facilitators on a variety of topics including action planning, health equity and disparities for LGBTQ Black and African American youth.

The HRC Foundation’s HBCU Program mobilizes and supports HBCUs in enhancing policies and services that promote excellence in LGBTQ inclusion, equity and engagement. The program focuses on promoting individual competencies and collective action, empowering leaders and stakeholders and building a network of committed leaders in pursuit of eliminating stigma and enriching the college experience for LGBTQ students and the entire student body.

HRC’s HBCU Program was founded to support LGBTQ students at HBCUs by providing resources and trainings to advance affirming and supportive college campuses. The program is supported by the Coca-Cola Foundation. For more information about HRC’s HBCU Project, visit www.hrc.org/hbcu.

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