Politics Of Love
Love and politics go together like clean water and hydrofracking. But not if you really work at it.
We’ve been legally married for almost two years now, and a couple for nearly fifteen. Yet it feels like we’ve been inseparable for much longer than that.
The story of our first meeting is a pretty fun one. A mutual friend invited us to a fundraiser for an LGBT community center in Queens. He wasn’t matchmaking intentionally. But when one of us (Jimmy) approached the mutual friend to ask who the guy was over there in the tie (Dan), he replied that the guy in the tie (Dan) had asked who the other one was (Jimmy). Pretty much it was love at first sight.
We started out like many young couples do, sharing a futon in a tiny Woodside studio apartment. We had a television that broadcast exclusively in shades of green. Jimmy, who grew up in Astoria, was hired as a community organizer for the Queens Library. Dan, a native of Michigan, later became a cub reporter for the Queens Chronicle.
Alongside our own love, our love for Queens deepened too, over Mets games, pollo a la brasa and visits to Jamaica Bay. No one could have predicted that we would bond over Queens, but we did. And that mutual fascination with this place—we’ve built our careers and life together here—has been a secret ingredient to our longevity.
Jimmy’s career, which has taken him from a community organizer to Council member and now majority leader, poses challenges. As does Dan’s evolution from reporter to editor, to environmental leader to documentary filmmaker. Finding time and space away from the noise of politics is crucial.
To that end, we have date night. Yes, just like the Obamas. We started date night soon after Jimmy was first elected in 2009, to make sure that we carve out some space for just the two of us. And acclimating to the demands of our careers has been critical too. There are multiple events every night. Rather than not see each other on busy nights, we will join each other—whether that means a Young Environmentalists mixer for Dan’s job or a museum fundraiser for Jimmy’s.
There definitely are challenges. A lot of people see us as a unit—to the point where people stop Dan in the street with constituent issues (which he promptly forwards to Jimmy’s office). But the truth is, having a partner by your side on a journey makes that trip a better and safer one for all. We know that to be true.
New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer represents District 26 in Queens, including Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Astoria and Maspeth. Dan Hendrick is vice president for external affairs at the New York League of Conservation Voters.