State’s new commission head is ready to help LGBTQ citizens know their rights
The state has a new LGBTQ Commission, and former Tacoma Rainbow Center director Manny Santiago has been named its executive director
Santiago starts his new job Oct 28.
The commission will identify the needs of and advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities in state government.
“It feels exciting,” Santiago said of his new role. “As a gay man of Latino heritage, I feel a responsibility to all of my communities.”
Santiago was raised in Puerto Rico and is an ordained minister.
The commission was created by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in April. The commission has 15 volunteer members appointed by the governor and four members from the Legislature.
Like other state commissions, Santiago’s office will collect information to advise policy makers from the Legislature to the governor.
Education, Santiago said, is his goal for both government and the LGBTQ community.
“There is a need to educate our community about what our rights are,” he said. Government and business needs to know those rights as well, he said.
“The commission can remind agencies of the rights people have,” he said. “You cannot discriminate against them because of their sexual orientation or gender identify.”
LGBTQ citizens are a protected class in Washington. That isn’t the case in some other states, including neighboring Idaho.
Competency training, which helps institutions create inclusive, safe, and welcoming environments for LGBTQ citizens, will be left to local, grassroots organizations like the Rainbow Center.
The commission as a whole will present concerns to the governor and the Legislature.
Santiago said he has three main goals for the commission.
First, he wants to complete an assessment of laws and other protections for LGBTQ workers and citizens in Washington.
Second, Santiago’s office will compile a list of LGBTQ resources, such as help lines and support groups, throughout the state — “to serve as a place where people throughout Washington can go to find information in their region,” he said.
“We get calls from Yakima and Spokane and Vancouver (Wash.),” from LGBTQ people looking for something like the Rainbow Center in their communities, he said.
His third goal will be to create a snapshot of the LGBTQ population.
“A mini census of the community, so we know where our community is and what resources they need,” Santiago said.
Washington ranks fifth or sixth in the nation for the percentage of LGBTQ people within its population, according to various scholarly and legal sources. After whites, Latinos are the second highest percentage of that population, Santiago said.
Changes at Rainbow Center
The commission office is just Santiago and an executive assistant.
It’s a fraction of the size of the Rainbow Center in downtown Tacoma that serves the Tacoma and Pierce County LGBTQ community and their allies. The center provides advocacy services, puts on the annual Pride festival and provides cultural competency education to private and public groups. It’s also a drop-in resource center.
Stepping in temporarily to head the Rainbow Center is longtime nonprofit leader Troy Christensen. In addition to daily and long-term operations, Christensen said he’s keeping an eye on the larger political scene.
“We’ve made a lot of strides in the past three, four decades being recognized as full citizens,” Christensen said. “A lot of those rights are at risk. There are some states that are rolling back rights. There’s a lot of talk about what the Supreme Court of the United States could do regarding marriage equality.”
Christensen started Oct. 1. He hasn’t decided yet if he’ll pursue a permanent position at Rainbow Center. A new director should be named in the next three to six months, he said.
In April, Christensen filed suit against the Korean Women’s Association who, he said, fired him because he’s gay. The lawsuit is ongoing.
This story was originally published October 26, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
