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Bill Rosendahl: Governing Outside The Closet

Benjamin Gottlieb |
September 30, 2010 | 12:14 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Rosendahl (Photo by Benjamin Gottlieb)
Rosendahl (Photo by Benjamin Gottlieb)
Bill Rosendahl is not the archetypal Los Angeles city councilman.

He wears an enormous smile, stands at well over 6 feet tall and commands an even greater presence. But most unique, and most surprising to his colleagues, is the fact that Rosendahl is gay.

“I remember when I told a certain Senator, Barbara Boxer, when she was running for office in California,” Rosendahl said. “And she said, ‘You’re gay?’ She couldn’t believe it. I’ve found myself educating people about it ever since I made it public.”

Rosendahl admits that becoming the first openly gay politician in Los Angeles City Hall history was never exactly the plan.

A former television broadcaster, political activist and social worker, Rosendahl’s career has taken him across the country, contributing to many of the democratic campaigns of the 60s and 70s.

Neon Tommy reporter Benjamin Gottlieb sat down with 11th District Councilman William Joseph “Bill” Rosendahl for an interview about sexuality, politics and his vision for Los Angeles.

Benjamin Gottlieb: How and when did you decide to make your sexuality public?

Bill Rosendahl: First of all, when I ran for office, I was out. I came out a total of three times in my life. The first time I came out was at my mom’s funeral at 32-years-old. To tell your family, who has known you all your life, that you are gay at 32… let’s just say they had no idea.

BG: How did each of your family members take it?

BR: Well, I’m one of eight children – four brothers and three sisters. And when I came out at the funeral, the eldest of my brothers came to me and said, “I don’t care. I love you just the same.” It definitely took my family by surprise. It took my father six months to adjust.

BG: Who took it the hardest?

BR: For my sister, she couldn’t talk to me afterward. But, she came to the funeral of my first partner, Christopher Lee Blaucman, after he passed away from the AIDS virus in 1995… that was a sign that she had accepted me.

BG: What about your other public outings?

BR: Right, when I worked for Westinghouse, which would later become Adelphia Cable, the company discriminated against me for being gay. I got tired of the same old answer of, “I just haven’t found the right one yet,” to the question of why I wasn’t married. So, I came out to my coworkers and they for the most part accepted and embraced me.

The third time I came out was on live television. I had Pat Cadell on my show, and this was right after the death of Christopher. Pat said to me, “Bill, I’m sorry to hear about your loss… about Chris.” After that, I looked right into the camera and outed myself right there on live television.
 

BG: Continuing that point, how has your sexuality affected your career?

BR: If I had a choice, I would choose not to be gay… Look, if I were born straight, it would be a lot easier for me to live. Nobody chooses to be gay.
 

BG: What about your road to becoming councilman? Where did you get your start?

BR: After college, I worked on Bobby Kennedy’s campaign. I was with him in the [Ambassador] hotel when he was killed.

I later went to work on the George McGovern campaign. It was there that I first met a young and ambitious man from Arkansas by the name of Billy Clinton. What I realized when I met Billy was that no matter what, I was the gay guy.

Here was this young guy, 28-29 years old, talking about is ambitions. Deep in my soul, I knew he had the charm and the look. I watched him become Attorney General and then of course, President of the United States. I never forgot those moments and those dinners.

BG: Let’s move to your political career here in Los Angeles. Your critics have called you anti-development, pointing to your refusal of a number of development proposals – the RAD Sunset Project and expansion of the FBI complex of LAX. What do you have to say to those critics?

BR: The bottom line with development, I always tell developers to come to me first. I’m not going to buy into a developer's project without community support. I’m for development if it actually adds something to the community.

BG: Don’t you think the expansion of LAX would add something to the community? I’m sure you’ve experienced the three-hour line at airport security.

BR: With LAX, I’m for modernization and against expansion. We’re in the middle of a major project at LAX. We’ve already spent $800 million on remodeling the Bradley Terminal and it’s projected to hit $1.3 billion by its completion date, December 12, 2012. LAX is among the top destination airports in the world.

BG: And what about the Santa Monica Airport?

BR: 80 or 90 years ago when Santa Monica was all bean fields, an airport made sense… Now, jets are taking off and landing over residential areas and idling over Mar Vista. By 2015, I’m pushing for the airport to shut down. Sorry Spielberg. Sorry Oprah. Your convenience is at the expense of the health of many people.

BG: Another point of contention in your district right now is in Venice, and the issue people living in cars and campers on public streets. What is the current status of your “Vehicles to Homes” program and the oversized parking ordinance?

BR: We are in the process of giving LAPD the tools necessary to enforce [Los Angeles Municipal Code] 85.02. In the next 30-60 days, we will have in place an oversized vehicle ordinance on certain blocks in Venice and the “Vehicles to Homes” program operational.
With getting these people out of their cars and into homes, it’s a tough issue. I’ve already put $750,000 toward the program and I’m willing to fundraise for it some more. What we need is a social welfare agency to take on the [“Vehicles to Homes”] program and sign onto the RPF [Request for Proposal].

BG: It seems like the realities associated with LA bureaucracy will create a scenario where the oversized vehicle ordinance would be in place before “Vehicles to Homes.” Many people could get caught in the middle, with nowhere to park and no program to enroll in. Don’t you think that’s a possibility?

BR: It’s too early for me to answer that. Look, I’m worried about it. It’s a big challenge. Ask me in a month.

To reach reporter Benjamin Gottlieb click here, or follow him on Twitter.

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