Straight Talk with Dan Stewart

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Atop City Hall's front stairway I stared at the Saranac River, I raised my arms like Balboa from Rocky and said, 'I did it.' But what was I doing? Standing here with my arms flailing at the cool March breeze yelling, 'I did it' to one of the great bodies of water in our North Country area. Had I completely lost my mind? Something told me not to worry, that this was going to be a great interview. After all, the man is well known around the state for being New York's first openly gay mayor. He's a real eccentric kind-of-guy. Just stick to what you've been taught, I thought.

A man in a fine black suit walked past me and into City Hall. Rental, I thought. He shot a look at me and said, "Can I help you?"

"Why I'm here to interview the mayor," I said.

"Well, you might want to put your arms down and get to it, eh?"

He was right, and I returned my arms to my sides and my hands to my pockets, and walked into the mayor's office.

"I'm not your stereotypical Jack from Will and Grace."

How's life going for you?

Just wonderful. Actually I'm having a really bad day, but I'm trying to keep a smile.

You were reading Dr. Suess books to little kids earlier?

This morning I spoke at Peru High School. Government class, telling them what it's like to be a mayor. I read a Dr. Suess' book at 12:15. Then I had a Mayor's Cup pre-meeting at 1 o' clock. Discussing whether or not to allow open containers in the downtown area during Mayor's Cup. Then I did a TV commercial in French for local industrial developers. Then I did some budget stuff, and then who walked in but you.

So, how many phone calls have you gotten today?

I've had thirty-five today. On an average day I get any where from twenty to forty phone calls.
Is this something you expected before you got in office?
Being Mayor of the City of Plattsburgh, I get calls from all outlying areas: Dannemora, Keeseville, Peru. People calling with their problems and I just refer them to someone in their area. Then I get people who know that I'm a recovering drug-addict and alcoholic. They call me and say, 'My kid has a problem. Can you talk to my kid?' And I'll talk to the kid, give them some advice.

"It was a statement for the city of Plattsburgh, that they could look past me as being gay. My agenda is their agenda."

You're New York State's first openly gay mayor, correct?

That is correct.

Did you feel that it was important that you be upfront with the public about this when you ran?

Yeah. I think in the end, you look at society, every time a woman gets elected into office or achieves something there is a milestone that is passed. If a black man were to become a manager of an NHL team, there would be all this hoopla about it. It's like you're not just achieving a personal goal, but you're accomplishing something for an entire people group.

Fourteen years clean and sober can do a lot to a man.

"I had a really bad coke-binge in '88. I got to the point where I didn't care if I lived or died."

Were you the only homosexual to ever run for office?

The same year I ran for mayor, a lesbian woman was running for office in Poughkeepsie. The gay lobby threw all their money behind her. They weren't giving me a chance in hell to win. At the annual dinner for New York State's gay and lesbian group, they didn't say a thing about me, but they had this big video about her. Come election night, she was swamped and I was elected.

That's got to feel good.

It was a statement for the community of Plattsburgh, that they could look past me as being gay, and that they would agree with my ideas as a human being, not a stereotype. My agenda is their agenda.

Yeah, you're a pretty solid guy. You're out there doing stuff for the community.

I don't instill the fear that some gay people instill in some people. I'm not your stereotypical Jack from Will and Grace. If Jack were running for mayor, going door to door, anywhere, either Plattsburgh or New York City, he would have a problem.

You were formerly addicted to cocaine?

Cocaine, alcohol, and anything else I could get my hands on.

Did you ever hit bottom?

I speak at AA meetings in Montreal. This is my 13th year of being sober. I'm working on my 14th year now. My bottom was in 1987-1988. I got to the point where I didn't care if I lived or died. When you get to the point when you don't care if you die, or you have a suicidal wish, that's the point when you know you've tripped the edge. That's the point when you have to say to yourself, Am I going to continue or am I going to check out? Which is it going to be? In '87 I came close, but in '88 I came really close. I had a really bad coke-binge in '88 and I was really sick for a long time at the end of the year. I had gone a year and a half clean and sober, but I just did a lot of drugs for a four month period. I not only picked up where I was before, but I also tried things I had never done.

What's rehab like?

I went to the military, but that did nothing for me. When I got out of the military I ended up pumping gas in Plattsburgh. There were actually a couple nights in a row when I slept under a bridge. I'd go from different friends until they'd kick me out. The actual program did the most for me.

How did you get into politics? It seems like you were a world away.

When I was twelve years old I was glued to the TV for the Watergate hearings. My mom would tell me to 'go play baseball,' and I'd say, 'no, mom, Mr. Nixon's in trouble. So, I've had the political bug since I was little.

Last year, you wanted to have an 'N-Sync concert in Plattsburgh. What types of music do you like?

My favorite band is The The, I don't know if people even heard of this band. So, The The, Rage Against the Machine, Pink Floyd, the Doors, Limp Bizkit, and Rob Zombie. What I really like is 99.9 the Buzz. I drive back and forth to Montreal a lot and just rock out to the Buzz and Peacard.

What do you do in your spare time?

I've been trying to find a balance between work and leisure. From the time I was elected to last August, I had a partner in Quebec. We had to split up, so for the last few months I've been partnerless. I'd like to find time, but I'm just so busy. The week belongs to work, but the weekend is mine, unless it's something really important like a breast cancer walk or something.

"I joined the military, because I thought it would make me straight."

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

Ran numbers for the mob when I was a kid.

Is that a joke?

No.

You're serious?

Yes. When I was a kid. There was a strip of stores. I was a gopher. They called me 'gopher.' At seven in the morning during the summer I'd get up, and show up at these stores. I'd go for the coffee and doughnuts, and these people would give me money. There was this one store I'd go to, and as I was getting older, about 9 or 10 years old, I started bringing packages from one business to another. That was my 'gophering.' My father was a police officer and he tried to explain to me what I was doing, but I didn't understand. I just thought it was a family business and I was doing my early teen duty to help out.

If you had a magic wand that could change any problem in Plattsburgh with the flick of a wrist what would you change?

This is going to sound political, but crime. Any crime involving drugs and alcohol, I'd do away with. I think that doing away with crime would allow us to deal with the other issues. Quality of life would be much higher.

Speak to the college students. What advice do you give the kid who wants to experiment with drugs?

I don't think it matters what I tell them, because he's going to make his own decision. There's enough education out there for people to know that you don't do drugs, because it burns your brain. Enough people know that you shouldn't be drinking alcohol under 21, because it's illegal. So, the student has to remember that they have to live with any decision they make. That decision may turn the individual into a worthless piece of crap that will ruin their education. Take the kid in Memorial Hall last year. He got caught with half a kilo of cocaine. He had good intentions, but he made the wrong decision. Now, he's in shock incarceration. He destroyed his future. I was destroying myself, but I was able to find an end and say, 'I'd rather live than die.'

"Brad Pitt. He totally rocks my world."

What are Dan Stewart's top five guilty pleasures?

(Laughs) You mean like where my eyes are going when I'm walking on campus? Is it okay to say that I have guilty pleasures, and if I were to reveal them I might not get re-elected? (Laughs)

Are college students safe enough when it comes to sex?

To the students: Don't feel as though you aren't susceptible to disease. If they're going to be in that situation where they're experimenting they need to be safe. Because they don't know where the other person's been and that is the most important thing to remember. Just be safe- heterosexual, homosexual, be safe.

Well, seeing that you're giving all this advice, what advice would you give to someone from the gay community?

I would hope that individuals who are gay, or are coming out, or struggling with the situation they are in, that there are extremely positive sides to gay life. It's ok to be proud of who you are and what you are, and don't worry about other people opinions. Sometimes other's opinions hurt, but it's better than living in denial. I didn't come out of the closet until I was 26, and I was one of the ones with all the gay jokes. It was painful. Some of the most vociferous anti-gay people are gay themselves. I did this in high school. My high school was the first in the United States to allow a gay couple to go to prom together. I was the major opponent for them going to prom together. I was the voice against it. Seventeen years later, I'm on the city council, and someone in Rhode Island finds out I'm the first openly gay council member in New York State. She calls me up and says, 'Don't you think it's time you came back to Rhode Island and explain what the hell is going on?' So, I went back for a 'pride' festival in Rhode Island and I stood in front of the crowd and with tears in my eyes I apologized for what I did 17 years ago.

Did you ever not want to be gay?

I joined the military, because I thought it would make me straight. But I found more gay people in the military than anywhere else.

Is there anyone in Hollywood you want to date?

Yeah, there's a couple, actually.
Who are they?
Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, he rocks my world.

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