Striking an equally collegial and critical tone in an open letter published in Condé Nast’s Them online magazine, Christine Hallquist of Vermont, the country’s first openly transgender gubernatorial nominee from a major political party, makes it clear why she believes Caitlyn Jenner is not qualified to be California’s next governor.
Jenner filed her paperwork to run as a Republican contender last month, with current Golden State Governor Gavin Newsom facing a possible recall this year or re-election race in 2022. If Jenner were to win, she could become the country’s first-elected openly transgender governor.
Hallquist, who received 40 percent of the vote to incumbent Phil Scott’s 55 percent, did not prevail in her 2018 race. “But winning isn’t everything in politics,” she writes in the open letter.
“What I learned from my experience running for governor is this: You can either lose gracefully, grow in the process, and actually give a voice to people, like I tried to do, or you can lose by airing grievances, shoring up regressive politics, and continuing to harm our community. Right now, you’re on track to take the latter path.”
Writes Hallquist:
In 2016, when Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency, I knew that he would work to reverse all the gains of the transgender community if he were elected. Bigotry, misogyny, and racism were fundamental elements of his campaign. Much to my disappointment, you initially supported his candidacy, before finally revoking that endorsement in 2018. By that point, your tepid condemnation was too little, too late, as many of the worst fears that I and so many others had when he was elected had already come to pass. …
My hopes and dreams for my community were shattered the day he took office, but you stood by, remaining silent as he assailed the most vulnerable among us. You are doing it again by underwriting the GOP’s attacks on trans youth in endorsing bills preventing trans student athletes from playing sports in states across the country, which have driven several young people to attempt to end their lives. This is not what a governor looks like, let alone the governor of a state with America’s largest LGBTQ+ population. …
Caitlyn, I’d really love to know this one thing: What have you done to prove that you don’t just want to protect your own wealth at the expense of others? Indeed, I suspect that’s why you’re running for governor. You’re running for yourself, not for others.
Read Christine Hallquist’s complete open letter in Them here.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
