AB: How will Paterson be a better governor than Spitzer – or will he?

AC: Well, look, I think that Paterson is going to be – our chances of victories don't diminish with Spitzer resigning. In fact, I would say that we probably have a chance of winning more in Albany, including marriage equality and the transgender civil rights bill, because of Paterson. He understands how Albany works, having been in Albany for quite some time, which is a skill that Governor Spitzer didn't have.

The second thing is – he's been a friend of our community since 1985. This is a guy who stood with us during the HIV/AIDS crisis when we didn't have a lot of friends. This is a guy who during SONDA in 2002 tried to make it trans-inclusive days after becoming the Senate minority leader. And this is a guy with whom I sat with last year on countless evenings going over with him a list of Assembly members who were either on the fence or had a soft "no," and he would help me and the Pride Agenda press strategies where we went to individuals. Paterson would say, "Okay, this person said 'yes'? Let me call them tomorrow and make sure that's a real yes or a soft yes".

On the day of the vote, which I have never seen in my history at Albany, the Lt. Governor showed up on the floor 45-minutes before the Assembly debate and personally talked to the people who supported the bill and then came up to the gallery to talk to the gay community and tell them he had our backs. That had never happened before in a decade that I've been going up to Albany. It was really incredible.

AB: Have you spoken to him since this started going down?

AC: I did.

AB: And what did he say?

AC: My rule is that I don't talk about the conversations I have with elected officials.

AB: Okay, well, did he give you any indication that he plans on addressing gay issues after he officially takes over?

AC: I think the first thing that's going to be on the Governor's plate is that we're less than three weeks away from a budget deadline and have to have that done, but knowing how David is supportive of marriage equality and the transgendered community, has been there for us, I just don't think that there's any doubt – there's not even a shred of doubt in my mind that he won't be effective for our community and won't work for us. The nice thing about David is that he never asks for anything in return. He's a low maintenance legislator with a sharp intellect, a savvy wit and is just fun to be around, and let's face it, Albany is not Paris in spring time. It's not always the best place to go to in the middle of winter, but, man, if he doesn't make it a fun place to be.

AB: And what about your relationship with Spitzer now? Would you invited Eliot Spitzer to speak at an event?

AC: No.

AB: No?

AC: No. I think the discipline of our organization, one of the things we're really good at is looking forward. I think that Spitzer has a lot of other places and other things to do than come to a Pride Agenda event and, you know, I don't envision us having a lot of conversations with Governor Spitzer. I'd rather spend my time with Governor Paterson.

AB: Well, let me ask you a question – and you probably won't like this – but is somebody's title more important than their actions? If Governor Spitzer had worked out his term and was not tainted by this scandal, would former Governor, untarnished Spitzer be preferable? He's still the same man. The fact that he's now been tarnished by this scandal – does that make him less desirable? The fact that he's no longer Governor? If a person comes out to fight for gay rights, is that more important than the title they hold?

AC: I don't think the issue is about a title. I think there are two different parts to it. Did he do things for the community and deliver to the community? Absolutely! But LGBT New Yorkers are not only part of an LGBT community, but we're also New Yorkers, so when I'm wearing my LGBT hat, then, yes, he's absolutely delivered to our community. But I'm also a New Yorker, so if these allegations are true, I'm really angry that our Governor did this. I don't think – if he's proved to have done money laundering and other stuff he could be charged with, I don't think that's necessarily somebody we want to be with. No one's saying he's not a friend of our community.

As an example, a friend of mine wrote me an email suggesting the Pride Agenda take down Spitzer's name and any pictures from their site. I said, "Look, he was our Governor for sixteen months. There was a Spitzer period in Albany. That happened. And during that period, the community got thing – we're not embarrassed at all by the things we got for our community. I'm embarrassed that my Governor fucked up. That's what I'm embarrassed about. I'm embarrassed that my Governor betrayed the trust of people who voted for him and worked hard to get him elected. That's what I'm pissed about, but that does not negate the fact this Governor did things for our community.

This is a situation where LGBT New Yorkers can both feel disgusted and angry and also appreciative at the same time. And since I don't think I'll be inviting the Governor to dinner any time soon or he'll be inviting me anytime soon, I'm going to focus on how we win what we're doing in Albany.