Why Should Delaware Care?
The state’s LGBTQ+ Commission advises the governor and legislature on policy changes and emerging issues that are necessary to protect and strengthen the community in the state. Some advocates have raised concerns that the members on the commission don’t represent the diversity of the state or have the advocacy experience of others in the space.
When Gov. Matt Meyer nominated five people to serve on a newly created LGBTQ+ Commission last month, he said they would become a critical part of an effort to “protect and reinforce the rights of all Delawareans.”
But not everyone within the queer community is applauding that effort.
As the new commission begins its work, some LGBTQ+ advocates have raised concerns about the makeup of the group, criticizing what they see as a lack of diversity and relevant advocacy experience among its appointed members.
The rollout has also resurfaced familiar tensions between Meyer and former-Gov. Bethany Hall-Long over gubernatorial appointments. Hall-Long originally created the LGBTQ+ commission back in January and appointed its first four members.
“The way this commission has unfolded is definitely not in the spirit that was intended by then-Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and that is very disappointing,” Julissa Coriano, founder of Orgullo Delaware and of the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective, said in a statement.
‘We want new faces’
Leo Coddington, program facilitator at Emerald Lighthouse and a therapist with Rising Hope in Delaware, said a lack of advocacy experience among commission members – or what he called “boots on the ground” – means they may fail to properly address issues that the queer community faces.
Coddington pointed to Meyer’s executive order in June to protect gender affirming care, which he signed at CAMP Rehoboth with some LGBTQ+ commissioners and lawmakers cheering him on.
What wasn’t mentioned during that signing was that Nemours Children’s Hospital would soon stop offering gender-affirming care to new patients that same month — a development that other advocates said they already knew about prior to the signing. The hospital’s decision significantly limits the treatment’s availability in Delaware.
“When we have people who haven’t been on the ground, who don’t know what it is, then we get policies that are great, but don’t actually affect us,” Coddington said.
In response to the criticism, a Meyer spokesperson said the governor’s office had spoken with Nemours just prior to the executive order signing and the hospital had not yet made an official decision on the matter.
Meyer also defended his appointments to the commission, saying he selected individuals who are both members of the LGBTQ+ community and who bring knowledge in other sectors, such as social work, law and health care.
“We want new faces,” Meyer told Spotlight Delaware. “I’m looking for people who I know are passionate. If they don’t have the experience, they’ll get the experience.”
Dwayne Bensing, a commission member appointed by Meyer’s predecessor, says he is glad to be working with people who aren’t “traditional advocates,” saying that advocacy spaces can become dominated by the same stakeholders.
“I don’t think that their role on the commission does anything to diminish the really amazing work that our advocates are doing in the community,” said Bensing, who also serves as legal director of the ACLU of Delaware.
During the group’s first meeting, Meyer’s policy director announced that the commission would be adding new members with an eye toward correcting the lack of representation of people of color on the commission.
Applications are currently open and the governor hopes to appoint four new members by the fall, Meyer spokeswoman Mila Myles said.
Hall-Long, Meyer take separate paths
Hall-Long, who had a two-week stint as acting governor in January, signed an executive order on Jan. 16 to create a state LGBTQ+ commission, which she set in place to advise the governor and the General Assembly on how policy will affect the challenges and needs of LGBTQ+ people.
Before she left office, Hall-Long appointed four of the current commissioners.
Those included Bensing; Larrisa Erikson, a Hall-Long staffer who helped create the commission; Leslie Ledogar, president of CAMP Rehoboth’s board of directors; and Mark Purpura, president of Equality Delaware.
After signing the executive order, Hall-Long convened an affinity group made up of prominent LGBTQ+ advocates from across the state to advise her on issues within the community, according to advocates who are still part of the affinity group under now-Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay.
Coriano and three other members of Hall-Long’s affinity group said they believed their involvement would lead to consideration for permanent seats on the LGBTQ+ Commission when it officially formed.
But that was not the case.
Some who have advocated for the LGBTQ+ community for years say they struggled to find where to apply for a position on the commission. And those who did apply said they were never contacted for interviews, asked for additional materials, or even formally rejected.
Many learned about the finalized commission the same way the public did – through a press release published months after they sent in applications.
The press release announced five new people to serve on the nine-member commission.
“Some names were familiar, some names we did not recognize. But most importantly, we did not see any Black leaders on the commission,” said Dr. Keonna Watson, a mental health therapist and founder of the FreeLee Integrated Health Wealth, who’s been advocating for queer rights in the state since 2005.
Another advocate, who requested anonymity to protect their safety, questioned whether a lingering tension between Meyer and Hall-Long influenced his decisions about the commission. They said that it was “radio silence” from Meyer for months after he took office.
“From the outside, not knowing anything about this. We’re like, ‘Is he ignoring it because Bethany Hall-Long created it?’” the advocate asked.
A year ago, Hall-Long and Meyer were engaged in a bitter and high-dollar campaign for governor. While Meyer won the race, Hall-Long as lieutenant governor was able to serve as governor for two weeks in January after then-Gov. John Carney resigned early to become mayor of Wilmington.
At the end of her stint as governor, a similar tension arose with Meyer when she made last-minute nominations to a state board that oversees the Port of Wilmington. Meyer subsequently withdrew those nominations after the Delaware Supreme Court gave him the authority to do so.
Chair didn’t seek, but has embraced role
In June, Meyer appointed Cora Castle as chair of the LGBTQ+ commission. When they heard about the appointment, many advocates said they were unfamiliar with her.
Castle is a member of the transgender community and a Delaware native. She is also an electrical engineer by trade who started OmniPotential, a company that developed a type of home electric vehicle charging station.
Castle is also executive director of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance and secretary of Sierra Club Delaware.
Castle told Spotlight Delaware that she previously contacted Meyer about being a part of a team related to electric vehicles.
“He came back immediately, and said, ‘I’d love you to be on the LGBTQ+ commission,’” she said.
Castle said she met Meyer about two years ago, when she applied for a seat on the New Castle County Board of Adjustment while he was still serving as county executive. She is currently vice chair of the Board of Adjustment.
She said she is excited to be on the commission and believes Meyer picked her because of her robust background.
When asked about her advocacy around the queer community, Castle highlighted her work with electric vehicles, noting that there is intersectionality in what she has done with sustainability and the queer community. She also said she has worked frequently with legislators, but didn’t specify details of that work.
“I don’t routinely go to a lot of Pride events, but I clearly have a lot of pride. I’ve been trans for nearly 20 years, and I’ve lived in the state for long enough that I’m not going to admit. So I am a foundational member of the community,” she said.
Also appointed by Meyer to serve as vice chair of the commission was Vienna Cavazos, who is the youngest appointee at 19 years old, and is also transgender.
Although Cavazos has only been in the state for three years, according to a report by the News Journal, they are a well-known advocate and political organizer for LGBTQ+ rights, gun violence prevention and voting rights. They currently work as a public policy specialist for Bulletproof Pride, a national nonprofit that works to address gun violence through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community.
Meyer also tapped longtime educator Daniel Lopez, an openly gay man and assistant principal at Caesar Rodney High School in Dover.
Little information is publicly available about Lopez’ advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, but during the first commission meeting he said he works within his role at Caesar Rodney to create safe spaces for students.
John Kane, Meyer’s policy director, was also appointed to the commission. According to his LinkedIn profile, Kane spent over 20 years working in various capacities for the U.S. Senate, including roles related to environmental policy, senior citizens, governmental affairs, homeland security, and public works.
Lastly, Meyer selected Noah Duckett, co-founder of Orgullo Delaware – which in Spanish means Pride Delaware. Duckett is also a clinical social worker and sexuality therapist who has worked in the state for nine years, specializing in gender-affirming care.
Duckett is Coriano’s son and colleague at Orgullo Delaware. He declined to comment for this story.
Diversity sought for commission
Despite Meyer’s goal to appoint new members with diverse backgrounds to the commission, Watson is still disappointed with how the commission was formed.
She is among other advocates who remain concerned with the fact that there are no Black individuals or representatives of Black-led organizations on the commission for a state where roughly one in five people are Black.
“We are all already facing microaggression, stereotypes, discrimination, bias, right? And they all have their different definitions. And for black LGBTQ+ people, that experience is compounded. So the commission should represent all intersections. That’s race, ethnicity, gender, identity, sexuality, lived experiences. Otherwise it cannot claim to speak for all of us,” she said.
Last month, Watson applied for one of the commission’s new seats and will be waiting to see if she is chosen.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that Nemours Children’s Health hospital has stopped providing gender affirming care, only to new patients.
