Spoiler Alert! Only in loopy Llanview! It looks like the outcome of that upcoming mayoral election on One Life to Live—the one pitting Viki (Erika Slezak) against her lifelong rival Dorian (Robin Strasser)—may very well hang on the local gay vote. To woo the support of the LGBT community away from Viki, Dorian will pretend to turn lesbian and marry her female campaign manager. (See my accompanying Q&A with Strasser for more on that!) Their nuptials, set to air October 30 and November 2, will be part of a mass group wedding of 22 same-sex couples. Kyle (Brett Claywell) plans to marry Nick (Nicholas Rodriguez) at this same event, while the man Kyle really loves, closeted cop Oliver (Scott Evans), is assigned to crowd control. Outraged by the anti-gay protestors, Oliver will publicly out himself. Will he also stop Nick and Kyle from saying “I do”? I spoke with OLTL head writer Ron Carlivati about the crazy political race in Llanview and this new twist in daytime’s first three-man love triangle.

First off, what kind of town is this? The voters have only two options for mayor: Viki, who has multiple personalities, and Dorian, who is a multiple murderess.
[Laughs] It’s true! Viki seems to be this paragon until you really take a look at her life. I don’t know that either is a great candidate but it’s a good way to pit Viki and Dorian against each other yet again. [Laughs] Also, only in Llanview do you need the gay vote to get elected! That’s really what’s driving Dorian here. She sees this as a way to steal the liberal vote away from Viki. “The gay people already love Viki. How can I top this? What if I become gay myself and marry a woman!”

How do you think the audience will side here? Viki is the saner of the two choices, but Dorian becoming mayor by being a gay deceiver would make for a much more entertaining story.
It’s like those Daytime Emmys predictions. Who should win? Who will win? I see the wisdom in voting for Viki, but I think fans will still root for Dorian to win the election, even under false pretenses.

Since Llanview is in Pennsylvania, which is not a same-sex marriage state, these weddings are only symbolic, right?
Yeah. Nick is a member of the Llanview Gay & Lesbian Alliance, and so is Amelia [Tia Dionne Hodge], the woman Dorian plans to marry. This is their idea to bring attention to this issue of gay marriage, a way to raise awareness. It not only becomes the talk of Llanview but it reaches other towns—in fact, it becomes world news. We’re going overseas with this one!

Wouldn’t this plot have more impact if the marriages were legal? You soap writers make people come back from the dead, surely you can change the law in Pennsylvania!
I’m not trying to take on the Pennsylvania legislature here! And I’m not trying to preach a certain point of view to anyone. This is a fun story based around an important issue with a couple of good old-fashioned wedding cliffhangers: Will Kyle go ahead and marry Nick even though he loves Oliver? Will Dorian carry through with her fake marriage for political gain and ruin her chances with David [Tuc Watkins]?

I still feel like I’m missing something here. If these marriages aren’t real, in a legal sense, then there’s nothing binding. So why does Oliver care? Why does David care?
Well, there is a bit of a twist to this. The weddings are set to take place on the eve of the election and, if Dorian wins, [she promises] to issue real marriage licenses to each of the couples. If the validity of the licenses is contested, she’ll take the case to the Supreme Court. So, ultimately, there could be something very real at stake. Also, at that point Oliver has decided he wants Kyle back. Kyle’s feeling about Oliver is, “You’re just coming out, and I’ve been hurt by you in the past and I don’t know if I can trust you.” And here’s this guy, Nick, who’s out and proud and true to who he is. Also, Kyle feels that by getting married he can support other couples who want to do the same. I think once we raise the possibility that Dorian may legalize these marriages, it becomes a little more serious.

In casting Tia Dionne Hodge as Amelia, you’ve hired the same actress who played Angel Mel. No coincidence, right?
When we came up with the idea of a lesbian entering the picture, someone whom Dorian would decide to marry, it seemed like a good idea to use someone Dorian was already familiar with, someone she might be predisposed to be interested in. When we did the Angel Mel stuff, Dorian saw [her late husband] Mel in this person. She was like the ghost of Mel giving Dorian advice.

Does David wonder—even for a second—if there’s an actual attraction between Dorian and Amelia?
It’s a possibility I always want to keep open, which is why we’re using a person Dorian has been drawn to in the past. There’s always that potential that Dorian could develop real feelings for Amelia. We’re able to tell this story because Robin can sell it. She’s such a terrific actress that we can push this envelope. This is also the next step in the love story of Dorian and David. It’s really about “How does David feel about Dorian marrying someone else, even if it’s not real?” It’s about “Can David and Dorian find their way back to one an other when Dorian is caught up in such a desperate quest to win?” David knows it’s a scheme. He’s like, “This is going to blow up and why don’t you pay more attention to the guy right under your nose?” He’s been no angel either. He wanted Dorian back, but it was just to use her house for that reality show. They’re pretty good at using each other and hurting each other, but I think the audience really roots for them as a couple.

Do you consider “Rianca” and “Nuke” and “Otalia” to be stepping stones that got you to the Kyle and Oliver story?
Absolutely. Other soaps had to tell their gay stories before I could tell this one, so I’m indebted to All My Children and As the World Turns and Guiding Light for blazing that trail. We’ll see how it works out. I don’t want to be perceived as someone who was afraid to take the story to the same level we take any of our heterosexual love stories. Nor would I want to be thought of as someone who was afraid to drop this story at some point, if that ultimately proves to be the wisest choice and what’s best for the show. But I do feel a responsibility to continue it and to keep pushing forward.

Your thoughts on GL getting cold feet with “Otalia”?
I don’t know all the ins and outs of that, but it was such a popular story that it surprised me when GL didn’t take it further. Anything we can do to get those eyeballs to watch us we should do! If a couple becomes popular, why pull back?

Bringing all these gay characters to Llanview reminds me of when [former OLTL head writer] Michael Malone introduced a Latino community, via Angel Square. It seems more than just a for-the-moment story but, rather, a commitment, a solid presence that won’t go away as long as you are head writer.
I always have that fear about how far ABC will let me go. Is the network going to be concerned with any kind of backlash? They’ve supported the Kyle and Oliver story so far because it’s a good love story. The important thing is that we have a big cast of characters so this is not our only story. I don’t want to drive people away if they are turned off by it, but hopefully, if they don’t like it, maybe they’ll like what’s happening with Todd or with Rex. I can’t please everybody in the audience. We certainly try to. We hope to. It’s not a story that’s on every day. It’s not something we’re forcing down everybody’s throat. It’s not like OLTL is trying to be The Gay Show.