CAMP Profile

Jane Monohan comes by her liberal activism honestly. It’s in her chromosomes.

Raised by liberal, democratic, activist, Catholic parents, Jane’s work for gay rights and democratic election campaigns follows the family blueprint.

With her mother protesting segregation, the Vietnam War, and volunteering on soup lines, and her law enforcement Dad waving the liberal flag as well, Jane knew she was a Democrat before she knew her religion.

Recently elected president of the Delaware Stonewall Democrats, a local chapter of the national GLBT-centered Democratic club, Jane easily recounts the steps that have led her to this leadership position.

"I started an underground newspaper in 8th grade," she says, "and wrote on topics like ‘Why Nixon Shouldn’t Have Invaded Cambodia.’ I knew who Eldridge Cleaver was at the same time I was learning about JFK."

Born in New Jersey, she moved to Wilmington as a nine year-old. According to Jane, her mother made sure she understood racism, anti-semitism and what she considers to be the true liberal meaning of the Christian message: helping the needy and protecting the disenfranchised. She’s been politically active in Delaware since 1972 when she distributed flyers for Senator Joe Biden.

Jane’s embrace of gay rights and her own gay identity was a little longer in coming out of the closet. It wasn’t until she graduated from the University of Virginia and was at law school at the University of Pittsburgh that she finally began dealing with it—a move that coincided with her recovery from alcoholism. "The alcohol really clouded everything," she says, now celebrating 17 years of sobriety.

Politically active in school, Jane was the president of the women’s law caucus and was a member of the National Lawyer’s Guild.

Following her 1985 graduation, Jane clerked for two Delaware Superior Court judges and then went to work in private practice. She became active in N.O.W., and the Delaware Lesbian and Gay Health Advocates.

Jane served as the co-chair of the New Castle Community Partnership, a community anti-drug coalition, and as an executive assistant to County Executive Dennis E. Greenhouse from 1993-1997. She currently works in the Private Bank of J. P. Morgan Chase in Newark, Delaware, where she is an active member of J. P. Morgan Chase’s Pride group.

Politically, Jane worked in county races, learning the basics, working the phone banks, and even exploring a run herself for Insurance Commissioner. She has been involved with the Delaware Liberty Fund, Human Rights Campaign and other political groups.

When the Defense of Marriage bill came to the General Assembly in 1996 she worked against its passage. "Once we realized that we couldn’t defeat it legislatively, we made sure that the message was clear that the bill reinforced hatred." In 1997, Jane helped form a political action committee, Eleanor’s Voice, to lobby against the anti-gay marriage legislation. "My work on that bill pretty much outed me," Jane says.

From there on, Jane understood that a local, grassroots organization was needed to get out the GLBT vote – and that "political power has everything to do with basic elections."

To that end, she set about getting more involved in GLBT politics.

Last summer, as the Delaware chapter of Stonewall Democrats was just forming, Jane attended their first fundraiser—an evening in Rehoboth with Barney Frank.

The evening drew hundreds of attendees, an impressive roster of Delaware politicians, and raised much-needed funds for the fledgling club.

"I realized that this group was just the thing we needed," she says. "As a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat I was ecstatic that this national organization was going local."

Now that she’s gotten involved with the club and has just taken the helm from the club’s founding president Tim Spies, she has a clear agenda for the group.

"I want to build on the early successes and bring added structure and strategy to the organization so we can impact every election in the state. In 2004 there are several house and senate races where non-supportive incumbents are up for election – we want to be active in those races."

One of the things that Jane finds exciting is the way the state Democratic Party has welcomed the Stonewall Club. "We have a seat at the table," Jane says, "and that’s great progress."

"It’s all about supporting candidates who support us," she says, noting that getting out the vote this November is her major goal.

Jane’s plan is to have the club be visible at both GLBT social events and state party programs and events, as well as promoting a huge boost in GLBT voter turnout. In addition, she is encouraging membership from the entire state, working to enlarge the club’s volunteer base, and bringing on more people in leadership positions.

"It comes down to 2%," she says. That’s the percentage of votes that divided most winners and losers in the last election. "If we can be the 2% improvement in voter turnout, we might be able to oust from office some of the legislators that do not support us. My goal is to have our club make that 2% difference."

As Jane combines her inherent radical roots with her experience, plus a healthy dose of pragmatism, it appears that the new Stonewall president has already leapt into the fray of elections 2004.

We’re sure she’s making her family proud.