Although Brian Ellner did not win his Democratic primary bid for Manhattan Borough President earlier this fall, the 1992 Dartmouth graduate considers his campaign a success for inspiring New Yorkers to action.
Ellner shocked voters with televised commercials that featured a naked image of President George W. Bush and a high-profile introduction of his same-sex partner, Simon, a first among political advertisements.
"It's about breaking down barriers; it becomes easier for the people who come next," Ellner said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The television advertisement began with a close-up picture of Bush's head and then, as Ellner read off a list of Bush's political shortcomings, zoomed out to reveal a naked, middle-aged body attached to the head. The point of the image, Ellner said, was to show that the "emperor has no clothes."
In the advertisement, Ellner went on to explain his political agenda as he walked down a Manhattan sidewalk to meet his partner, Simon, who Ellner introduced at the end of the advertisement.
Ellner did not at first recognize how unprecedented it was to make his partner such a visible part of his advertisements, he said.
"It is New York City after all, and it's 2005. I was honestly shocked to learn it was the first time it had been done. I assumed that somewhere in this country, someone would front an ad featuring their partner the way straight politicians show their husbands and wives," Ellner said.
Ellner credits his social and academic experiences at Dartmouth for guiding him to his future in politics.
"I grew up in the East Village in Manhattan, a very diverse area. To go to Dartmouth, a place that wasn't completely accepting ... it instantly politicized me," Ellner said.
Ellner became involved in Dartmouth politics early on in his college career, serving as class president during his freshman and sophomore years and student body president during his junior year.
Ellner said that he became involved in politics in order to make Dartmouth a more accepting and diverse place. Ellner worked to increase the number of minority employees and students at Dartmouth, successfully pushed the College to divest from apartheid in South Africa and encouraged Dartmouth to break relations with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps because of the army's alleged discrimination against homosexuals.
"I loved Dartmouth, I adored all my time there. I think it's one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, [with] a first-rate education and an undergraduate focus," Ellner said.
Despite his positive overall impression of the College, Ellner said that the atmosphere at Dartmouth was not very open to homosexuality.
"I felt unable to be who I was while at Dartmouth. I came out at Harvard in the first term of law school. [Dartmouth] was just not accepting on that issue," Ellner said.
Ellner also blamed the fraternity scene for fostering homophobia when he attended Dartmouth and added that the College's geographic isolation does not give students access to the large gay populations found in cities.
Ellner, who has remained an active alumnus, noted that the College has changed a remarkable amount in terms of diversity and acceptance but said that there is still more to be done.
Since his failed primary bid in September, Ellner has taken a job as a political advisor to Michael Bloomberg, New York City's Republican mayor. Not discouraged by his first attempt, Ellner said he has plans to return to elected politics.
