It was unfortunate that the Portland Press Herald’s coverage of the heartwarming gathering at City Hall on June 13 to remember the victims of the Orlando nightclub massacre did not mention Mayor Ethan Strimling’s comments as the last speaker of the night.

Before the mayor took the podium, a particularly eloquent speaker mentioned the fact that over 200 Portland-area residents had just lost their HIV/AIDS treatment through the India Street clinic. That person went on to say that there were “more ways to kill us than bullets,” which is certainly true, as many of those receiving services from the India Street clinic are a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

It is for this reason that I found it so hypocritical and offensive that EqualityMaine chose Strimling to speak as one of our lauded allies, since his support of the city budget proposal last month has put the lives of my community’s most disadvantaged people at risk.

For those who haven’t followed the political battle over Portland’s budget, last month our city councilors decided to endorse a budget that nearly every speaker at the public hearings and comment sessions vehemently opposed. Greater Portland Health (formerly known as the Portland Community Health Center) has been brought in as a private nonprofit to replace the services that the India Street clinic provided through a public health initiative.

But Greater Portland Health won’t be continuing the essential services that saw the viral load of many individuals who are HIV-positive or who have AIDS drop by up to 95 percent.

Strimling and the Portland City Council are no allies of mine, or the LGBT community at large. If anything, they are simply politicians benefiting from a tragedy that should have been left to our community to mourn in peace, without political grandstanding from either side of the aisle.

Matthew Raymond

Portland

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