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Civil Rights HI Politics

For Bill Woods

As we approach the final passage of SB232 HD1, the Civil Unions bill, which will be signed by the Governor next week, I’ve been thinking a lot about Bill Woods.

To be honest, I can’t quite remember when or where I first met him, but I used to work with his husband, Lance Bateman, who was my boss for a number of years after I arrived in Hawaii. I have fond memories of Bill, though he and I often disagreed, mostly on how to approach a certain issue. He was passionate and hot tempered and some might describe him as hard to deal with. That was never my sense of him. He was a dedicated and tireless advocate for social justice; not just for the GLBT community. He was a active member of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and the Party is better for it.