Sanchez in Middle of AIDS Groups’ Feud

WASHINGTON — Rep. Loretta Sanchez, the newly elected Orange County congresswoman who unseated firebrand Republican Robert K. Dornan, found herself caught between two battling AIDS groups on the eve of the presidential inauguration.

Members from the local Washington chapter of ACT UP on Sunday picketed the $100-a-ticket Sanchez fund-raiser sponsored by the American AIDS Political Committee.

Protest organizer Steve Michael accused the national AIDS committee of recently raising more than $1.5 million on behalf of candidates sympathetic to AIDS-related causes, but only contributing $88,000 to those candidates.

“ACT UP is going to hammer hard on this, because it’s exactly the kind of thing we don’t want to see,” Michael said.

He and three other protesters advised people attending the fund-raiser to “hold onto your wallets” rather than contribute to the committee.

The committee’s treasurer, Tom Sheridan, said Michael was upset because the committee did not contribute to Michael’s ill-fated presidential campaign.

ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, is a national organization known for its high-profile, often confrontational protests aimed at focusing attention on AIDS issues, including high prices for AIDS drugs and discrimination against those who are HIV-positive.

Sunday’s fund-raiser was held to assist Sanchez in meeting legal expenses related to Dornan’s dogged refusal to accept her photo-finish surprise upset against him in November. Dornan has charged that Sanchez won the election because illegal immigrants voted in large numbers.

AIDS and gay rights organizations targeted Dornan this last election for his frequent berating of gays and his controversial proposal to ban HIV-positive people from the military.

The AIDS committee contributed $5,000 to the Sanchez campaign. It was one of the earliest political action committees to support her.

“Early on, they believed I could win and their support made a difference at the time,” Sanchez said after arriving at the event.

Sheridan, who helped launch the AIDS political committee three years ago, said the organization has done more than just raise money. “We’ve motivated more than 40,000 voters about AIDS-related issues,” he said.

In addition to contributing money to political candidates, the organization funds programs related to voter education and registration, Sheridan said.

Sanchez reacted to the protest as no more than a tempest in a teapot.

“Some people believe that it was gay organizations that elected me,” Sanchez said. “But they actually were a small part of it.”