Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Schrader Blvd, Los Angeles

When Mayor Hahn and I recently met at my home, we both commented on a photo of my former partner, Rand Schrader. Randy was one of the country’s first openly gay judges and a longtime Board Member of The Center. After Randy’s sad passing from AIDS 10 years ago, in June of 1993, the street outside The Center was renamed Schrader Boulevard in his honor.

Mayor Hahn had worked with Randy while Randy was in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, and the Mayor and I reminisced about Randy’s long-held belief in the need for a social service and community services agency serving the diverse needs of the Los Angeles gay and lesbian community.

But Randy also believed that The Center needed to be part of the fabric of the larger city, and that its success depended on not just the support of our community, but that of our allies and elected officials as well. It was with this belief in mind that I asked Mayor Hahn to make the contribution that he is announcing today.

During last year’s unsuccessful battle to break this city apart through secession, Mayor Hahn often said that LA’s diversity is its strength. He was never more right. No matter what our ethnic heritage, our religious beliefs, our sexual orientation — it is our shared vision of a city that celebrates all of its residents that makes us great. I thank Mayor Hahn for his leadership and vision for Los Angeles, and in particular for his support for The Center.

City Grants $75,000 to L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Jeff Griffith Youth Center

Mayor Hahn Presents $75,000 to Jeff Griffith Youth Center (19kb, pdf)