DANIEL SQUADRON
25th Senate District,
Lower Manhattan, Brownstone Brooklyn
Incumbent Senator Martin Connor has been a long-standing friend of the LGBT community who can be relied on to take all the votes we would like him to in the next two years. Yet, in 2002, his Democratic Senate colleagues removed him from the post of minority leader precisely at the time when the party was just beginning to discern control of that chamber within its sights.

Of the Senate's 62 members, only 21 currently support marriage equality, and six Democrats have evidenced opposition to the measure. That means even if the party captures control of the Senate in November, it will be a heavy lift to secure our marriage rights, already approved by the Assembly.

Asked in a recent interview with Gay City News about his ability to jawbone his colleagues, Connor pledged, "I would have no problem looking them all in the eye and saying, 'Sorry this is the right thing to do. I'm going to have a press conference.'" Yet moments later, when asked about his accomplishments, the senator responded, "I have a different style. I don't look to do a press conference."

Daniel Squadron, an aggressive challenger who hits hard on the issue of reform in Albany, seemed more comfortable about assuming a lead role in goading his colleagues. "That is a drum I plan to beat as aggressively as anybody," he said of the push for marriage equality.

Squadron is smart, articulate, and, unlike Connor, pledges to devote his full attention to his job as a legislator. We think he will make the sort of advocate who will hasten success on our issues.