David Mixner, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist who advised Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign and later criticized him for his “don't ask, don't tell” policy regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer people in the United States. Soldier, died. He was 77 years old.
Meixner died Monday at his home in New York City, according to Anise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Parker said Meixner had been in foster care for some time. In 1991, Meixner was a founding member of the organization, which recruits and supports political candidates from the LGBTQ+ community.
For years, Mixner was a major figure in Los Angeles politics and the gay rights movement, where he was known for his ability to raise money for liberal causes and bring people together.
In a 1996 review of Meixner's memoir, The Times wrote: “By moving from the East Coast to California, Meixner expanded his contacts to include the wealthy among the new openly gay and lesbian community, his non-gay supporters, and, eventually, sympathetic politicians.” . He played a pivotal role in organizing against a 1978 ballot proposal to ban gay teachers from classrooms. The campaign asked millions of Californians to rethink their views on homosexuality. They did it, and the gays won.”
In a statement issued Monday, the Victory Fund said: “David was a courageous, resilient and tenacious force for social change at a time when our community faced widespread discrimination and the HIV/AIDS crisis that was ignored by the political class in Washington, D.C.
“In 1987, David joined one of the first HIV/AIDS protests outside the Reagan White House, where police wore rubber gloves due to stigma and misinformation about HIV/AIDS,” and was arrested.
Parker, the former Houston mayor, said Mixner believes the LGBTQ+ community needs to be visibly and continually involved in the political process and “drag people along with it.” She said he was outgoing, intelligent and had a big personality, but added it was his moral compass that people should remember most: He was willing to speak up and stand up.
“He got other people involved, but he also held people accountable,” Parker said. When politicians did not make their commitments, he was prepared to ask them to do so.
Mixner grew up in Elmer, New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 2021. He attended Arizona State University and the University of Maryland and later helped organize efforts to end the war in Vietnam and worked in political affairs. Campaigns. He also wrote several books, including the memoirs “A Stranger Among Friends.”
Mixner, who was credited with raising millions of dollars for Clinton from gay voters, angered the White House in 1993 when he attacked then-US Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.). In a speech, Mixner Nunn, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called an “old-fashioned bigot” for opposing Clinton's plan to lift the ban on gays in the military.
When Clinton began to reach a settlement with Congress and the Pentagon over the issue later that year, Mixner accused the White House of misleading LGBT leaders. He said Clinton “sacrificed the freedom of millions for your political benefit.” Days later, Mixner was among more than two dozen people arrested in front of the White House to protest Clinton's rescinding of his campaign pledge to lift the ban by executive order.
Neil Giuliano, the former mayor of Tempe, Arizona, traveled to New York last month to visit Mixner, whom he has known for decades, and they talked about politics, life and the afterlife.
“Facing death forces one to be completely naked and completely honest,” he said.
Giuliano described Meixner as a “graceful activist” who had an impact on people at all levels.
“It wasn't like he wasn't angry, but he presented in a way to talk about the issues and with such grace, and he presented in a way that brought people in and didn't keep them out,” said Giuliano, who was serving as vice president. He now serves on the board of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. “I think that's why a lot of people are drawn to it.”
