The race for California State Senate that will pit a termed-out gay State Assemblymember against the incumbent lesbian Senator is yet another indication of the way that gay politics has changed in the past decade. More and more queer energy and time is being spent electing and re-electing out queer politicians than on tackling the big issues within the LGBT community, such as homelessness and the lack of affordable housing for youth, seniors and people with AIDS.

The fact that State Assemblymember Mark Leno intends to run against State Senator Carole Migden for the Third Senate District seat probably has as much to do with term limits as it does with the fact that he feels he is the best candidate. Leno is playing the new political musical chairs. Supervisor Tom Ammiano, termed out on the Board of Supervisors, is doing the same thing: He’s seeking the seat Leno is vacating. Ammiano has Leno’s blessing. Obviously, Leno doesn’t have Migden’s.

It’s not an issue of creating divisiveness in the community. Queers have run against queers before: Former supervisor Harry Britt opposed Leno in his first bid for Assembly. Lesbian activist Eileen Hansen almost defeated the incumbent Leno for District 8 supervisor. No doubt the city’s queer community will be divided by the Leno/Migden showdown, possibly the way it was during the Willie Brown-Tom Ammiano race for mayor a few years ago. Considering how easily Leno won at the recent election of delegates to the California Democratic Party, there might be less of a divide than anyone imagines. Unless Migden can rally her forces.

I’m concerned about this direction our community has taken.

In the 70s, Harvey Milk ran for public office because he felt that queers could best represent queer interests. He ran up against the old guard in the LGBT community that kowtowed to the Democratic Party, which, at the time, didn’t feel it was important for out gay folks to hold public office.

Thirty-something years later, San Francisco probably has more out queer elected officials than any other city: State Assembly, State Senate, Board of Supervisors, School Board, etc. These politicians have become our de facto leaders. When a controversy breaks, the media often looks to them for the queer community’s perspective. The activism that used to dominate the streets of the Castro is now mostly reserved for political campaigns. Every fall, volunteers with the city’s two queer Democratic Clubs pound the pavement to get out the vote for their favorite candidates. One seldom sees as many people tabling or rallying for crucial issues such as the need for more affordable housing.

Real social change doesn’t come from politicians. It never has. Politicians didn’t champion civil rights before Martin Luther King and thousands of activists marched in the South, risking life and limb to challenge segregation and racism. No one in political office thought much of gay rights bills before we came together in a gay liberation movement that celebrated our sexuality and made coming-out a new form of doing-your-own-thing.

Having so many elected officials creates a sense of complacency. We don’t need to worry about problems because the politicians will take care of everything. If we have a concern, don’t mobilize on the streets, call our queer supervisor. If we have a rally, stack the speaker’s lists with politicians. They’re the experts on everything. They’ll draw the media. They’ll get us noticed.

The problem is not Leno running against Migden. It’s that we’ve put too much emphasis on the electoral process to the neglect of social justice issues that need our attention.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a radical, southern Italian, working-class queer performer, writer and activist whose work can seen at www.avicollimecca.com.