It looks like a split decision last night in the battle of the Pagan candidates, resulting in a historic win for Republican candidate Dan Halloran. In a very close race Halloran defeated his Democratic opponent by a margin of 1300 votes to become the next New York City Councilman for District 19. This is a dramatic win for the beleaguered Theodsman, and his victory represents a dramatic first for modern Paganism, the first openly Pagan/Heathen candidate to gain an important political office. We await an official statement from Halloran, in the meantime, you can read congratulations from his supporters, and commentary from a snarky but somewhat humbled Village Voice (not to mention a peeved-sounding Steven Thrasher).

“But there are some less expected results, and one involves one of the “Losers to Watch” we mentioned early today: Queens council candidate Daniel Halloran (pictured), the pagan/heathen Republican looking to succeed Tony Avella. He seems to have bested Democrat Kevin Kim, 53 to 47 percent. By Odin’s beard, his magic must be strong!”

Indeed, and I look forward to following councilman Halloran’s career with interest in the coming years. Sadly, it isn’t all good news on the Pagan candidate front. While Halloran pulled off a win, Democrat Alice Richmond failed to unseat incumbent Republican Robert Griffith in the race for a seat on Page County Virginia’s Board of Supervisors. Griffith won by a very large margin, and while the revelations about Richmond being “Lady Raya” couldn’t have helped, Virginia saw a wave of Republican victories last night, and that turn-out most likely made the contest into a total rout. On her blog, Richmond inferred that the county was suffering from “Stockholm Syndrome”, and gave the following statement.

“For those 546 people who came to the polls and voted for me, thank you. For those 47 people who contributed nearly $6,500 to my campaign, I did the best work I could do. The voters of District 1 made a clear choice. The vote was not close.”

So a somewhat bitter-sweet, yet ultimately historic night for Pagans participating in the political realm. Halloran’s win, and even Richmond’s high-profile candidacy and loss, have broken down barriers that will greatly benefit future Pagan adherents looking to get involved in the political process. It has proven that while no race in the near future will be easy for an “out” Pagan, in the right circumstances we can win.

Today is the day, elections are being held, and we’ll soon find out if two out/outed Pagan candidates will win their respective races. The higher-profile story, that of Republican New York City Council candidate, and Heathen Theodsman, Dan Halloran, has gotten a bit ugly in the final hours.

“Though he once wrote on his PaganSpace webpage that “Theodism regularly practices blood sacrifice,” Halloran told the paper that the ritual is similar to Jewish dietary laws. That riled up Kim supporters. “By comparing animal blood sacrifices with the Jewish dietary laws of keeping kosher, it’s no wonder that Dan Halloran’s religion is supported by neo-Nazis and white supremacists,” Michael Dovid Sais, a Jewish Kim backer told the Daily News.”

Looks like the Village Voice piece conflating racist Heathens in prison with Halloran’s campaign has been somewhat successful in putting Halloran, once again, on the defensive when it comes to his faith. He’s now dealing with protesters outside Republican headquarters accusing him of anti-Semitism, some who are directly quoting the Village Voice article. As for the Village Voice, they defend their original piece, saying that they made it clear Halloran wasn’t a racist, even if large parts of the article happened to be about racist Heathens.

“We did point out that there’s an alarming trend in the country’s prisons of white supremacists adopting neo-heathenism for their white nationalist agendas. Experts tell us that as much as 50 percent of the country’s tiny neo-heathenist movement has connections to white supremacy. But we also made it clear, several times, that we found no tie between Halloran’s New Normandy and those white supremacist groups. Yes, Halloran seems to have found some fans at the white nationalist forum Stormfront, but that’s something he can hardly control.”

Meanwhile, both Halloran’s and Democrat Kevin Kim’s camps have been accusing the other of harassment and sabotage. All of which makes me think this is going to be a close one. But while Halloran’s story has gotten most of the attention from the press, Pagan or otherwise, he isn’t the only Pagan on the ballot this election day. Alice Richmond, who is the Democratic candidate for District 1 Supervisor in Page County, Virginia, is facing Republican Robert Griffith in a race that has seen Richmond’s religion used as a weapon against her.

“On September 18th the conservative talk-show SpeakOut interviewed Alice Richmond, Democratic candidate for District 1 Supervisor in Page County, Virginia. During the program a “Jim Logan” called and asked Richmond if she was “Lady Raya”, author of two books on Wicca. Richmond repeatedly denied the allegation on the air, causing her to backtrack later when a local television channel followed up on the story .. While her outing as a Wiccan may be damaging to the campaign, it is also very likely that opponents may have over-stepped in their out-the-Witch campaign, bringing her more free publicity and new supporters than she may have otherwise gotten. Meanwhile, a commenter on Richmond’s blog points out that accusations of a set-up by the hosts of SpeakOut were all but confirmed on the program’s next episode.“

So we have two Pagan candidates, both of whom are trying to move past the public revelations that they belong to minority faiths in a country where being Christian seems to be almost a prerequisite for gaining political power. If you’re not, then you have to endure increased scrutiny, and often, insinuations of anti-Americanism. It isn’t pretty, but perhaps Wilfred M. McClay, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is right when he says that “it’s something that these neo-pagans have to go through”. See you all tomorrow for the results.

ADDENDUM: Halloran wins, Richmond loses, more on both of these races early tomorrow morning!

Steven Thrasher at The Village Voice does a lengthy profile of Republican (and Libertarian, Independence, and Conservative) New York City Council candidate Dan Halloran, who has received quite a bit of attention for his adherence to the Theodish faith. Thrasher explores Halloran’s Theodism, talking with Theodsmen who know Halloran about such concepts as blots, sumbel, and thralldom.

“Newcomers to Halloran’s “reik” — an alternate spelling for “reich,” or territory — are considered “thralls.” The word literally translates as “slave,” and Sancio acknowledges that it’s an “unfortunate” word, and one he didn’t want to find himself defending. Sancio describes theodish thralldom as “a period of learning, and enculturation. It’s not abusive.” Bloch says that thralls “learn humility” and engage in “menial chores, like washing the dishes.” It’s a chance, Bloch says, for the newcomer to make sure the group is a good fit. Every thrall has a mentor, and Halloran was Sancio’s during his introduction to New Normandy. The strict hierarchy has theological consequences: the group believes that “luck” falls from the Gods to their representative, Halloran, who passes it on to those who have sworn oaths to him.”

Thrasher also interviews several Pagans for the story, including Selena Fox and Margot Adler, and he gets quotes from two politically conservative Pagans, Donald Meinshausen and Rob “Red Alerts” Taylor. Taylor, as always, has some nice things to say about Wiccans.

“Wiccans and re-constructionist pagan religions engage in infighting,” he says, charging “Wicca is just smearing the competition.” Taylor initially came to paganism as a teenager via Wicca, but the young Reaganite soon turned to Odinism. Odinism’s rules and order appealed to his conservative nature, while Wicca he now describes as a “fraud” and “a leftist thing — not just Democrat, but far left politically. Theodism and heathenism are more conservative.”

All-in-all it’s a well-executed and well-researched story (he even links to my blog), but there is one troubling element, which is Thrasher’s decision to interweave controversies about racist/racialist forms of Heathen religion into the narrative. The article at several points discusses the problem of racist Heathens/Odinists in prisons, mentions a violent racist killer, and describes the “trepidation” that non-Heathen Pagans have concerning “white nationalist elements” inside Asatru/Odinism/Heathenry. What he doesn’t do is convincingly justify examining this racist minority within the context of a story about Halloran’s faith and beliefs, especially when, at almost every turn, it is pointed out that you shouldn’t automatically connect Heathen symbols and religion with the racist elements who utilize the same symbols/beliefs.

“Frank Wilson, a retired Deputy of Intelligence for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, says that he watched out for new Odinist groups at institutions because most people trying to start them “were white supremacists, and were willing to use it for nefarious reasons.” Still, he cautions that Odinism does not necessarily denote white nationalist fervor. “You can’t point to a tattoo and say ‘you’re a white supremacist,’ or point to it and say ‘you’re an Odinist,’” he says.”

It would be like profiling a Christian candidate, while interweaving discussion about the Christian Identity Movement, even though everyone you interview repeats that such people are a isolated minority and don’t represent the mainstream of that faith. Thrasher’s own article dismisses any racism, real or imagined, on the part of Halloran, but the fact that so much of the piece explores these elements joins the two story threads together in the minds of voters. That is troubling. There is plenty to write about concerning Halloran, his candidacy, and his faith, without also mixing in outside controversies concerning the growth of racist Odinist groups.

This morning I received a letter from Rev. Cathryn Platine and Rev. Viktoria Whittaker, First Battakes and Battakes-in-Waiting of the Maetreum of Cybele located in upstate New York. It is usually not in my habit to re-print letters that I’m sent, but I think in this case it may be warranted.

“We are a Pagan congregation that is encountering entrenched discrimination in upstate New York and currently in court fighting for our rights as a minority religion.  The Maetreum of Cybele is a Goddess-centred, reconstructionist religion.  Although we are not Wiccan, many of us come from Wiccan backgrounds and still practice as such. We have been noted in Margot Adler’s “Drawing Down the Moon, Pat Telesco’s “Which Witch is Which” and Raven Kaldera’s “Hermaphrodeities”.  Our founder has been active in the Pagan Community since the 60’s.

We own real property and run a brick-and-mortar establishment in the Town of Catskill in Greene County, New York.  Our property consists of a historic former Catskill Inn called Central House and approximately 3+ acres of land with an outdoor Temple/Grove in the hamlet of Palenville.  We purchased the property 2002 and turned it into a Pagan Temple and Convent.  A Pagan Convent you ask?  No, it’s not a contradiction in terms.  What we do is provide both temporary and permanent housing for Pagan priestess who wish to dedicate themselves more fully to serving their community as well as for purposes of spiritual retreat, safety and growth.

Not long after we purchased the property a local slumlord addressed a town meeting calling for us to be run out of town by way of zoning and building inspection harassment. While most of the people in town rejected his call and welcomed us, nevertheless over the course of the next several years we weathered continued harassment, vandalism, threats to “burn us out” followed by harassing and illegal inspections.

We incorporated in 2005, put the property in the name of the religious corporation and applied for property tax exemption which was granted in 2006.  The following year the renewal of the exemption was denied without given reason ironically enough within weeks of our Federal 501 (C)3 status being approved.  The Town of Catskill has continued to deny our exemption to this day in open violation of New York tax law which mandates the property tax exemption for religious and charitable organizations.

Today our situation is that we are considered behind on these illegal taxes and thus in potential danger of having our property taken away which is probably the motive here.  Our case is currently in court however we were forced at the last minute to go “pro se” (represent ourselves) because the attorney we were working with would not represent us in court.  Under New York law we must have a lawyer represent us because we are incorporated and we have been ordered by the court to hire a lawyer.  We were actually ordered to use all our connections and networking so this letter is actually by court order
- believe it or not.

We have also contacted the Department of Justice.  Because, after three years of refusing to give a reason for the denial, we were told this year it was because of a zoning violation which is actually prohibited by Federal law under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.  We are hoping, as provided by the law, that the DOJ will pursue criminal charges.”

The Matreum is requesting the Pagan community’s help in finding a sympathetic lawyer. It seems they have been turned down by over 30 lawyers already. If you know a Pagan or Pagan-friendly lawyer in New York who might be willing to talk to them and look into their case, I’m sure it would be appreciated (contact e-mail). They are also soliciting donations towards their cause, asking for people to forward this message, do energy work on their behalf, and inviting people to visit their Maetreum in upstate New York. I should also note that if you are a journalist who reads my blog, this could make a great religion-news story that deserves looking into. Oh, and it seems they have a Facebook fan-page, though it doesn’t mention their current crisis.

Finally, a word of caution. While I’m certainly sympathetic to the case here, I should also note that anyone wanting to donate should do their own investigations into the organization first. I do not know, and am not familiar with, this organization or Cathryn Platine. So please do look things over, contact them, and decide for yourself if this all seems legitimate. I’m reprinting this here, now, because it seems urgent and, on its face, a legitimate case of a Pagan group being screwed over.

Here I thought I was done talking about New York City Council candidate, and “outed” Theodsman, Dan Halloran until after the elections. However, a loyal Wild Hunt reader alerted me to this recent op-ed in the Queens Chronicle where Halloran decides to talk about his faith journey. It starts, as all good stories do, at the beginning.

“I was raised a Roman Catholic right here in Auburndale. I was baptized into the Catholic Church and took my confirmation at 13.I attended Jesuit schools.Then and now, faith is a cornerstone of my life.”

OK, good so far, many Pagans/Heathens started out as Catholics. Next we come to a moment of personal tragedy and the resulting changes that it brought to Halloran’s religious perspective.

“The death of my father and its aftermath was very difficult for our family. I took comfort in my family’s history and our heritage, yet through all of this pain and hardship, I never lost faith in God.”

That’s certainly terrible about his father, but he never lost faith in “God”? Doesn’t he mean that he gained faith in many gods? Halloran is a polytheist, isn’t he? Lets go to an article Halloran wrote for The Witches’ Voice to make sure.

“The Theodish religious philosophy can be described as three interlocking sets of thews: A) The Votive Thews – i. Sacral Kingship, ii. Theodish Affinity – the Web of Troth and Oaths, and iii. worship of the Germanic Gods and Ancestors; B) The Criterial Thews – i. Life as a process of Ordeal, ii. Worthing and Becoming, and iii. its context of the Three Wynns – Wisdom, Generosity and Honor; and C) the Existential Thews – i. Freedom of Conscience, ii. Right Good Will, and iii. Sovereign Tribal Weal. These Three Rings of Thew [the “TRT”] are what binds together each tribe’s Theodsmen and makes possible the Theodish theological construct. Each of the thews interlock and are co-dependant, they are likewise situational and dependant on context for expression.”

That sounds pretty polytheist to me, maybe he’s just warming up people unfamiliar with Theodism. Let’s read on.

“Last week, I was attacked for my faith in the Queens Tribune.These attacks happened on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest time of the year for the Jewish people. Having been raised in a Catholic household that shares its religious roots with the Jewish faith, I was deeply offended that religion would be used for political gain … I am a man of faith – and now my faith is under attack by a newspaper working for my opponent.”

Huh? He’s trying to imply that the timing of the outing was offensive because it was near Jewish high holidays and he was raised Catholic? That makes almost no sense. Further, he keeps referencing “my faith” and that he’s a “man of faith” but does not once mention what, exactly, his faith is. I get that he doesn’t want his faith to be used against him in this race, but the nature of that faith is out of the bag, repeatedly invoking a singular “God” while talking about Catholicism and Judaism to the exclusion of his actual chosen faith simply reinforces the notion that he’s hiding something. Anyone reading this remains entirely unclear as to what Halloran’s current faith is, unless he’s saying that Theodism is more a cultural practice for him, and that he remains a Judeo-Christian-style monotheist. Is that what he is saying?

Whatever Halloran’s actual beliefs are at this point, he needs to be clear about them. Misdirection or invocations of family history, however noble, won’t erase the questions people have. Will perceived political necessities make someone who once openly advocated for Pagan rights keep quiet?

ADDENDUM: Dan Halloran, in a letter to me, offered the following clarifying statement.

“I honor my Ancestors and cling to my Hiberno-Norse Culture’s Worldview. I revere my God (Tiw)- and henotheistically I may add- a fact NEVER HIDDEN from ANYONE who has had a theological discussion with me ANYTIME in the last 10 years- and I respect the Gods of the North and Wights of Middenyard. I have been part of the Heathen community in New York for 20 years and particularly Theodish for over 12 years.  I have served the Troth for over 18 years in a variety of religious and secular ways. Whatever necessary political discussions take place – I have never hidden my religion- it’s on my facebook, in courts – judges and counsels in the Courts I practice are aware, I’ve been the corporate counsel for a variety of pagan groups- and have lectured and discussed theology all over the US.  I disclosed my religious affiliations to the Queens County GOP prior to running.  My license plate on both my car and truck are Tiw Tru and Tyr Tru respectively.”

So that should clear up at least some of the questions folks have.

After last weeks reports/rumors from City Hall News and the Village Voice that Theodish political candidate Dan Halloran was going to be replaced by his party with a conservative Democrat in the race for a seat on New York’s City Council, it seemed only a matter of time before he “voluntarily” stepped down. But a flurry of reports since Monday seem to assert that attempts to replace Halloran were either untrue or inviable, and the New York Republicans will be standing by their man.

“Queens Republicans are vehemently denying published reports that they are going to replace Dan Halloran as their candidate for the District 19 City Council seat …“The Queens County Republican Party has not for even a moment entertained a substitution of our candidate,” said Vince Tabone, Queens executive vice chairman and spokesperson for the Halloran campaign. “What we have done is stand firmly with Dan Halloran and called on Congressman [Gary] Ackerman and his staffer Kevin Kim to renounce the vile, repugnant attacks on Dan Halloran’s faith and heritage,” he continued.”

Lisa Derrick at La Figa corrals several of the reports refuting claims that Halloran is stepping down, and interviews another Pagan lawyer from New York, author Phyllis Curott.

“Attitudes have certainly changed–the Republican Party apparently already knew he was Pagan! They’re defending his religious freedom, advocating religious tolerance and condemning a religious test for office as repugnant. Marvelous. Quite a change from Jesse Helm’s introducing legislation to take away the tax-exempt status of Wiccan religious institutions.”

Meanwhile, Chris Bragg at City Hall News, who had a hand in reporting the rumors that the GOP was looking to replace Halloran, now claims that behind-the-scenes efforts to replace Halloran with conservative Democrat Paul Vallone have failed.

“Ending conversations and speculation about whether Paul Vallone would run as a Republican in the race to replace Council Member Tony Avella, Vallone will endorse Democratic candidate Kevin Kim this afternoon, according to Kim’s campaign. The endorsement will take place at 4 p.m. at Kim’s campaign headquarters in Bayside … The endorsement comes after a day of negotiations between leaders of the Queens Democratic Party, the Kim campaign and the Vallone family … Over the past week, Queens Republicans have engaged in talks with Vallone about the replacing embattled Republican candidate Dan Halloran, whose belief in a pre-Christian pagan religion were disclosed in a Sept. 17 article in the Queens Tribune.”

Whether Curott is correct and attitudes within the (New York) GOP have changed, or if the party simply couldn’t replace Halloran in way that didn’t look bad for them, it looks like Halloran will remain the Republican (and Libertarian, Independence, and Conservative) candidate for District 19 city council. Now, onto the race! I can’t wait to see the polling for this one.

This doesn’t seem to be a good month for politicians who want to keep their Pagan faith to themselves. Just last week Republican candidate for New York’s City Council Dan Halloran was outed as a Pagan by a partisan newspaper, and now the Democratic candidate running for District 1 Supervisor in Page County, Virginia has been outed as a Pagan on a local conservative call-in talk show.

“A local political candidate faces questions about a controversial book she may or may not have written. Alice Richmond is running to represent District 1 on the Page County Board of Supervisors. She recently denied writing a book about Wiccan history and rituals called “Thirteen Lessons for Pleasing the Divine: A Witch’s Primer.” In denying she wrote it, is she being honest about her past? It all started Friday with a radio interview. On the call-in show SpeakOut, a man identifying himself as Jim Logan had some questions for Richmond about two titles he’d found … Richmond said, “That is not me, Jim.” … Richmond denied she was Lady Raya a couple times more.”

On Alice Richmond’s blog she explains that she denied being “Lady Raya” due to fear of retribution from “ignorant morons”.

“Why is my name not tied to Lady Raya? Well, that is very simple: There are ignorant morons out there who think there are real witches who can put spells on them, and they get scared of it so they think it’s fair game to tamper with their mail, invade their offices, and otherwise threaten them physically. A “nom de plume” is used in authoring a book because otherwise, it would be dangerous to present information.”

As you can imagine, local Republicans are having a field day.

“Richmond’s opponent in this case, Robert Griffith, declined to go on camera, but did say he wanted Richmond to be clear about whether or not she wrote the book.”

While it does seem that Alice Richmond was set-up with a planned outing in order to damage her campaign, her denials and subsequent attempts to portray Lady Raya as a “fictional character” only feed into the accusations that her Pagan past is “controversial” and something to hide. Now we’ll have to see if Richmond’s campaign can move past this incident, and if her Republican opponent (not to mention his supporters) can resist using Wicca and modern Paganism as a political football.

Meanwhile, the Queens Tribune article on Republican candidate Dan Halloran, and alleged efforts by his opponent’s spokesman to spread the story to the press may be sucessful in damaging his campaign. While one local story gave sympathetic coverage of Halloran’s religious journey, and another portrayed the GOP as “having faith” in the candidate for New York City Council, the Village Voice claims that Halloran may be on the verge of being replaced as a candidate.

“Up until the story ran, Halloran was the odds-on favorite to win the November general election against newcomer Kevin Kim who won last week’s Deocratic primary against a crowded field seeking to fill Tony Avella’s vacated seat. Now all bets are off, and City Hall news blog reports today that Republican leaders are negotiating to swap Halloran for Paul Vallone, member of the illustrious Queens Democratic clan who lost to Kim in the primary.”

Are Republicans really going to swap out Halloran for a conservative Democrat? If they do, what about Halloran’s ballot lines for the Libertarian, Independence, and Conservative parties? I very much doubt they’ll all want to switch horses at this point. Rumors that Halloran would be given a judicial nod in exchange for vacating the ballot for Vallone seem to be stalled due to legal obstacles to such a plan. As for Queens County Democratic Party chair Michael Reich, he’s keeping in classy by describing Theodism as a “cult”.

“They should stick with the candidate they picked, even if he happens to be in a cult.”

So one political party is privately embarrassed by Halloran’s faith and wants to kick him off the ballot, and the other political party is calling his faith a “cult” and using it to score points against him. I think the Shakespearean response here would be “a pox on both their houses”.

Both of these stories, not to mention the recent trials of Democratic delegate Rita Moran, all point to a simple fact: In the age of the Internet there is no “broom closet” secure enough to keep your secret. If you’ve ever mentioned your faith in public, be it a message board, e-list, book, magazine article, or mass-e-mail then you can’t expect your secrets to remain secret. The only response is to acknowledge that open adherence to a modern Pagan or Heathen faith will make some voters react negatively, and embrace a new level of transparency your most likely uncomfortable with. Pretending to be generically Judeo-Christian for the sake of politics is only a recipe for disaster. Eventually, and very likely before you’re elected, it will leak. If powerful politicians with far more to lose can’t keep their affairs or sexual preferences secret, what hope is there of hiding that article about Witchcraft your wrote, or that public festival you attended?

Pagan politicians, no matter what party they are with, need to be open about their faith from the start. If the message we keep sending to our interconnected communities is that modern Paganism is something we must keep hidden, if we treat our faiths as a “third rail” in politics, then a Pagan politician will never reach high office. We must win as who we really are, or we will never win. Yes, that will make the journey harder, it will remove the short-cuts of easy endorsements and fat contributions, but we need to make that journey no matter how hard. We must remain open no matter how strong the instinct to keep hidden, and eventually, with time and work, we will win. We will win and that victory will shatter the barriers that have hindered so many who tried to run and were brought low by mudslinging and fear. We will win, but we must come out, come out, wherever we are.

While Dan Halloran isn’t the first openly Pagan candidate running for political office, he may be the first to actually have a shot at winning. Halloran, who is running as an “independent” Republican against Democrat Kevin Kim for a seat on the New York City Council, was recently outed as a prominent Theodsman by the Queens Tribune.

Dan Halloran, the Republican candidate for City Council facing primary winner Kevin Kim in the 19th District, already has a leadership role in a vast community that very few people know about -- or understand. Halloran is the “First Atheling,” or King, of Normandy, a branch of the Theod faith of pre-Christian Heathen religions assembled in the Greater New York area. A group of dedicated fellow pagans swear their allegiance to him through oaths of fidelity, allowing luck from a series of ancient gods -- specifically the “Norse” or “Germanic” gods Odin, Tyr and Freyr -- to pass through the King to his kinsmen … When asked Wednesday about his faith, Halloran was uneasy. “I am not comfortable with injecting my religion into my politics,” he said. “I grew up born and raised Roman Catholic. I went to Jesuit schools. Most of my life has been in traditional Irish household.” He added, “I don’t think any of this is really relevant to the City Council race. It’s like talking about what church you pray at. That you understand the divine is the most important part.”

Since being outed by the paper his tribe’s web site has been taken down, but a quick Google search will show you that Halloran, who works as a lawyer in New York City, has a long and prominent history within Theodism and the modern Pagan/Heathen community as well. Will this outing hurt him in the race or within his party? So far the local Republican party seems to have his back.

“Halloran explained that Queens GOP Chairman Phil Ragusa and the GOP executive committee were aware of his faith. Ragusa said Wednesday that Halloran’s religion is not an issue. “If a person performs and does what he has to do for his district, then he will be a welcome breath of fresh air,” Ragusa said.”

But will that situation last? The Queens Tribune’s sensationalist front-page story seems designed to make his faith an issue in this race, and while many cosmopolitan New Yorkers may not blink an eye at Heathen candidates within the party there’s always the chance this story could make some higher-ups nervous. It also remains to be seen if local Democrats will want to use Halloran’s faith as a wedge issue to get Kim elected (and you can be sure I’ll hold their feet to the fire if they do).

As for Halloran as a candidate, he seems to have done well with his campaign so-far. He’s secured the endorsements of the Republican, Libertarian, Independence, and Conservative parties, and will appear on four uncontested ballot lines as a consequence. He was also endorsed by the NYC District Council of Carpenters.

On the issues Halloran seems rather against the Democratic Party’s health care reform platform, raging against the evils of “socialized medicine” at tea-parties. He’s also pro school vouchers, term limits, guns, and tax-cuts. In short, he seems for the most part to be a rather typical libertarian-leaning fiscal conservative. No word on what his stances are on various social issues, but I’m fairly certain he’s for minority faiths receiving equal treatment under the law. If you want to keep track of Dan Halloran, he has a Twitter feed. You can also be sure I’ll be keeping track of this race and giving you updates as November approaches.

ADDENDUM: It seems that Democrat Kevin Kim’s spokesman sent a copy of the Queens Tribune article to journalists all across the city in an attempt to use Halloran’s faith against him.

“Reporters around the city received an e-mail with a pdf of the article attached — from Democratic rival Kevin Kim’s new spokesman … Halloran’s supporters dismissed the story as a “hit” by the Tribune, which has several links to Kim.”

The Queens Tribune, which seems to think being a Pagan is a splashy front-page issue, has a sister company that does consulting and printing work for Kim’s campaign. Though they insist there is an editorial firewall between the companies, it makes the whole thing seem rather suspect. I await official comment from Kevin Kim on this issue, does he believe that being a Pagan should factor into this race? I have e-mailed Kevin Kim’s campaign and await a response.

News has reached us that author, teacher, radio-show host, comedian, and proud New York Witch Marion Weinstein passed away on July 1st, 2009. Weinstein is probably best known by many Pagans as the author of “Positive Magic”, which was first published in 1978 and soon became a beloved classic among women and men awakening to religious Witchcraft. She went on to write several more books, and give talks and workshops on a variety of Witchcraft-related topics, including a yearly stand-up comedy show each Halloween. One of Weinstein’s life-long goals was to de-stigmatize Witchcraft and have it recognized as a positive influence on the world.

Marion Weinstein, Candlemas 2009

“Weinstein’s guiding belief about Witchcraft is that a Witch’s job is to help the community. Her personal definition of magic is transformation. Thus she spreads information about personal self-transformation–always for the good of all and according to free will–as an ongoing way to help the individual self and the global community. A self-avowed “city Witch” in a modern world … Weinstein sees Witchcraft not only as a religion but also as a philosophy and a way of life, springing from a personal inspiration that comes from within.”

A public memorial service is being held at the NYC Pagan Pride Day celebration on September 26th. The service will be lead by Donna Henes, and you can contact her for more information. To learn more about Weinsteins rich and full life, check out her web site, her YouTube channel, and an interview conducted with Weinstein by the Wiccan / Pagan Times. May she rest in the arms of the Goddess and return to us again.

Way back in March of 2008 the town of Greece, New York had a problem. Americans United had decided to bring litigation against the Town Board for a policy of starting their meetings almost exclusively with sectarian Christian prayers. Hoping to avoid losing a lawsuit, the Town Board threw open their doors to any religion that wanted to give an opening prayer, even if they were Pagans.

“[Greece deputy town supervisor Jeff] McCann said the town has long used a list of worship services published in a local newspaper to extend invitations to local clergy for the meetings. The list offers little diversity, he said, and the town has had difficulty locating people from nontraditional faiths who may not have a physical church building they attend. “Now that the issue has gotten some publicity, we’ve had people call up and say they have an interest in delivering a prayer,” he said, adding that nonclergy, the nonreligious and anyone else who wishes to speak the pre-meeting prayer is welcome. “If a private person wants to come and say a prayer, they can come and do it.” Indeed, he said, next month’s Wiccan prayer was initiated by local resident Jennifer Zarpentine, who called town offices to ask whether she would be welcome at a meeting.”

So local resident Jennifer Zarpentine did indeed give an opening invocation in Greece, making her re-think the issue of sectarian prayers now that she was included.

“In just a few seconds’ time during the April Town Board meeting, Jennifer Zarpentine made Greece history. Zarpentine, a Wiccan, delivered the first-ever pagan prayer to open a meeting of the Greece Town Board. Her hands raised to the sky, she called upon Greek deities Athena and Apollo to ‘help the board make the right informed decisions for the benefit and greater good of the community.’ A small cadre of her friends and coven members in the audience chimed in ’so mote it be … Zarpentine said she was pleased by the opportunity to pray at the meeting. ‘I thought the invocation went well,’ she said. ‘The board was respectful;, they all bowed their heads.’ As far as the lawsuit goes, Zarpentine said the town isn’t being discriminatory. ‘They are including everybody,’ she said. ‘They asked me.’”

Americans United were, naturally, unmoved by the town of Greece’s recent inclusiveness, so litigation moved forward. This past Thursday Americans United and the town of Greece (represented by the right-wing Alliance Defence Fund) gave their arguments to a judge and are now awaiting a summary judgement in about six weeks.

“In the hour-long hearing, Richard R. Katskee, assistant legal director for Americans United, argued that the plaintiff is concerned not with prayer before the meetings but with sectarian prayers that have dominated the practice since Auberger started it in 1999. According to court papers, of 104 prayers from 1999 through 2007, none were non-Christian. Since the lawsuit was filed, the majority of the prayers have been Christian, with one being delivered by a Wiccan priestess and two others by non-clergy. Katskee stressed that the plaintiff is not against Christian prayer, but that the prayers have been aimed at one sect … Joel Oster, a senior litigation counsel for Colorado-based Alliance Defense Fund that is representing Greece, said that it is not right to ask the town to police the clergy. “It is not the town’s place to tell the clergy what to say,” Oster said. “It would cause a nightmare for the town.” Auberger has said that the town’s practice is to have an open invitation to any Greece resident to contact the town about giving the prayer.”

So now we’ll find out if a legal fig-leaf in the form of a single sectarian Wiccan prayer (amidst a hundred Christian prayers to Jesus) can aid this New York town and their socially conservative legal team overcome the AU and some pretty strong legal precedents in their favor. Will Greece’s “include a Wiccan” gambit work? Or will they be forced to switch to non-sectarian prayers? In about six weeks we get to find out.