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Sunday, July 14, 2002
Same-sex couples drawn to Portland
Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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Also on this page: SAME-SEX COUPLES' TOP 10 CITIES | |
Debra Ugosoli and Mary MacLean have been partners in life and work for 11 years. They have three children - Zev, 6, Frances, 3, and Carlin, 4 1/2 months. They live in a residential Portland neighborhood that includes two other gay families. When they're not changing diapers or carting kids around, they sell Apple computers to Portland-area design firms. Ugosoli, a New Jersey native, and MacLean, who grew up in Brunswick, chose to live in Portland and raise their family here for a variety of reasons. Their overriding concern was pretty simple. "Because we're protected and we're accepted here more than any other place," said Ugosoli, 43. "This is the most comfortable, easygoing, don't-care-if-I'm-gay community that I've ever lived in." Apparently, plenty of people share Ugosoli's sentiment. Portland has the third-largest concentration of lesbian couples in the United States, after Santa Fe, N.M., and Burlington, Vt. It also has the tenth-largest concentration of gay male couples in the nation, according to a recent analysis of Census 2000 statistics published in Population Today by the Population Reference Bureau. Many members of Portland's gay community said the high rankings make sense. They say Portland's natural setting, on the ocean and near the lakes and mountains of Maine, make it naturally attractive to many people, gay or straight. "Gay people are no different than anyone else in wanting to live in an attractive place," said David Garrity, a Portland property manager who moved here from New York City in 1989 with Edward Hobler, his partner of 23 years. They say Portland's gay rights laws, as well as its ethnic and cultural diversity, make it especially welcoming for gay families looking to raise children where they will feel comfortable and be accepted. And they say the social, artistic and economic opportunities in Maine's largest city (pop. 65,000) are outstanding. Portland has a gay business association, the Rainbow Business and Professional Alliance, with 160 members. It has popular gay bars - among them Sisters, The Underground and Blackstone's - and a host of gay-friendly restaurants and nightclubs throughout the city. It has several houses of worship that make a point of inviting gay members. And it has various music venues, museums and galleries, including the Portland Museum of Art, Merrill Auditorium and the Cumberland County Civic Center, that draw national acts and exhibits. "One of the things that Portland says to the whole nation is that Portland has a lot to offer you, regardless of your sexual orientation," said Peter O'Donnell, an openly gay man who is one of nine city councilors in Portland. Portland also has a gay mayor, Karen Geraghty, one of about a dozen openly gay mayors in the country. Geraghty and O'Donnell have helped to bring gay rights issues to the forefront of city politics during the last decade. Portland voters passed a gay rights ordinance in 1992 that was the first in Maine and one of the first in the country. In 2001, the City Council established a registry for domestic partnerships, and passed a domestic partnership ordinance that requires the city to offer equal benefits to city employees with domestic partners. This year, the council tightened the ordinance to make sure social service agencies that receive federal funding through the city also provide equal benefits to their employees. The effect of these ordinances is tangible for some members of Portland's gay community. "Portland is a great place for anyone to live. When you add to that the leadership role that the people and the elected officials of Portland have taken on gay rights, it's even more appealing for a gay or lesbian couple," said Kathleen Perkins, 38, who lives here with her partner of six years, Dr. Margaret Schoeller, 43, and their two children, ages 2 and 9 months. The census counted 2,490 unmarried-partner households out of 29,714 total households in Portland. Among unmarried-partner households, 193 respondents reported being a woman with a female partner, and 183 respondents reported being a man with a male partner. That means lesbian couples represent 0.65 percent of all households in Portland, and 7.8 percent of all unmarried-partner households. Gay male couples represent 0.62 percent of all households in Portland, and 7.3 percent of all unmarried-partner households. The census did not count single gay men and lesbians, so a total figure for Portland's gay population is unavailable. Portland's gay community has grown more vocal and politically active during the last 20 years, another reason why gay couples may find the city attractive. O'Donnell remembered the first time he walked in Portland's Gay Pride Parade as a city councilor in 1988. "There were 30 or 40 people walking down the sidewalk of Congress Street," O'Donnell recalled. "Now, they close the street and you have hundreds of people in the parade and people line the sidewalks." Portland's gay-friendly climate isn't a primary concern for all gay couples. Stephen Scharf and Benjamin Dinglasan, a couple for six years, moved from New Jersey to Portland in October 2000, after the latest census figures were gathered. Scharf, 42, is a database consultant. Dinglasan, 32, is an administrative assistant and teacher at the Sonlight Christian School. They moved to Portland because Scharf grew up in Maine, his mother had retired here, and Dinglasan had loved the state ever since he graduated from Bates College in Lewiston. "We moved here for a more relaxed, less hectic way of life," Scharf said. "I knew Portland was gay-friendly, but it wasn't a major factor." While Portland is known as a gay-friendly community, some people question whether it has developed a national reputation for having a large gay community. Mayor Geraghty, who travels extensively as a political consultant, is often asked about the city she has called home for 12 years. "Nobody has ever said to me, 'Gosh, I hear there are a lot of gay people in Portland - I think I'll move there,' " said Geraghty, 41, who lives with her partner of eight years, Carol Kelly. "I do think people in Portland feel fairly free to express who and how they love." Gay couples often choose Portland because they have had their fill of the more intense, urban experiences like those offered in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York. Portland provides the amenities of a city at a slower, safer, less-expensive pace. As in other cities, members of Portland's gay community sometimes can become a target of hate crimes. Last month, a Portland man was brutally beaten by an unknown assailant during Gay Pride Week festivities. City officials and a well-organized gay community responded with outrage. "I think the citizens of Portland are incredibly open-minded," Geraghty said. "I think there's always going to be some small number of people who aren't accepting, no matter where you go. You just have to keep living your life." Gay couples appreciate Maine's live-and-let-live attitude, which is why Portland's gay and lesbian community may be less segregated than in other cities and towns. "It's sort of our heritage to keep to ourselves and respect other people's lives," said Maggie Allen, president of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance. "Being gay is not the first and foremost issue for many people." For Debra Ugosoli and Mary MacLean, a couple for 11 years, living in Portland was a conscious choice. It became more crucial when they decided to have children - Mary, 39, is the birth mother and a gay male friend is the father of all three. They say they like Portland because it is a beautiful, artsy, diverse city where their kids have an opportunity to know other children of gay parents. They belong to a children's play group with four other lesbian couples who have a total of eight kids. They like the way Portland schools and city officials promote respect for diversity. Above all, they like Portland because they feel comfortable here. "I just feel like I'm a regular person walking down the street," Ugosoli said. "I just happen to love a woman instead of a man, and I have three kids with a woman instead of a man." Julia McCue, staff researcher, contributed to this story. Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at: |
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