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David Mixner is a longtime LGBTQ+ activist who served as an advisor to Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign and has since become an advocate for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer talent. He criticized Clinton over his policies. Soldier, dead. He was 77 years old.
Mixner died Monday at her home in New York City, said Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Parker said Mixner had been in hospice care for some time. In 1991, Mixner was one of the founding members of an organization that recruits and supports LGBTQ+ political candidates.
Mr. Mixner has long been a major figure in Los Angeles politics and the gay rights movement, known for his ability to raise money and unite people for liberal causes.
In a review of Mixner’s memoir in 1996, the Times wrote: “Moving from the East Coast to California, Mixner expanded his network to include wealthy and non-gay supporters of the newly openly gay men and lesbian community, and eventually sympathetic politicians. ”. He plays a pivotal role in organizing against his 1978 ballot proposal to ban gay teachers from the classroom. The campaign called on millions of Californians to reconsider their views on homosexuality. They did, and the gays won. ”
“David was a courageous, resilient and indomitable man at a time when our community faced widespread discrimination and an HIV/AIDS crisis ignored by the political class in Washington, D.C.,” the Victory Fund said in a statement Monday. “It was a force for social change.”
“In 1987, David attended the first HIV/AIDS protest outside President Reagan’s White House, where police wore latex gloves due to stigma and misinformation about HIV/AIDS. ” and was arrested.
Mixner believes the LGBTQ+ community needs to be visibly and consistently involved in the political process, and has “dragged people into him,” said Parker, the former Houston mayor. He was outgoing, witty and had a big personality, she said, but she added that what people should remember most is his moral compass. He was said to be proactive and stand up for himself.
“He got other people involved, but he also held people accountable,” Parker said. “He was active in criticizing politicians even when they did not keep their promises.”
Mixner, who grew up in Elmer, New Jersey, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021, according to the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He attended Arizona State University and the University of Maryland and later became involved in political activism, helping organize efforts to end the Vietnam War. campaign. He also wrote several books, including his memoir, Stranger Among Friends.
Mr. Mixner is credited with raising millions of dollars for Mr. Clinton from gay and lesbian voters, and in 1993 he infuriated the White House by attacking then-Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.). Ta. In his speech, Mr. Mixner called Senate Armed Services Chairman Robert Nunn, an “old-fashioned bigot” who opposed Mr. Clinton’s plan to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military.
Later that year, when Mr. Clinton began to compromise with Congress and the Pentagon on the issue, Mr. Mixner accused the White House of misleading gay leaders. Mr. Clinton “sacrificed the freedoms of millions for his own political expediency,” he said. Days later, Mixner was among more than 20 people arrested in front of the White House to protest Clinton’s reversal of a campaign promise to lift the ban through executive order.
Neil Giuliano, the former mayor of Tempe, Arizona, traveled to New York last month to visit with Mixner, whom he has known for decades, to discuss politics, life and the afterlife.
“Facing death forces a person to be completely naked and completely honest,” he says.
Giuliano described Mixner as a “gracious activist” who influenced people at all levels.
“It’s not that he wasn’t angry, but he came forward and talked about the issues in a very graceful way and didn’t give a presentation that drew people in and shut them out,” Giuliano said. He currently serves on the board of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. “I think that’s why so many people were drawn to him.”
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