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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2004)
apri lfi. 2004 » MAYOR: TOM P O T T E R CITY C O U N C IL , P O S I T I O N 4: RANDY LEONARD CITY C O U N C IL, PO SITIO N l! SAM A D A M S "As m ayor o f Portland, I w ill do everything within " I think we need to do 'This is not a time fo r those o f us m y authority to foster equity ana inclusion for sexual m ino rities.. . . I want city governm ent m ore to m ake Portland who believe that it is about damn time that gay marriages be allowed to distance ourselves from those on the county commission who did the right thing. . . . I believe we have an LGBTQ-friendly c ity .. . . As the first openly gay to reflect our citizens, because thing to do and the only thing to do. m em ber o f City Council, I plan on being a source o f advocacy a responsibility to speak out and defend those fo r the basic human rights o f a ll Portlanders." who stood up and were counted a t a crucial juncture in our state's history." ■ Vote Potter, Adams, Leonard T Sam Adams has the insider edge with 10-plus years of extensive City Hall experience. He is solutions oriented, he knows how to bring diverse j groups together, and he genuinely wants to improve the quality of life in Portland. We’re not shy about saying that an out gay city commissioner will help represent the diversity of Portland in a more visible manner. Nick pish, while perhaps a little shorter on substance than Adams, 1. What have you done to promote civil rights for the would be a reasonable alternative. He worked on the 1980 campaign to sexual minorities community? 2. What will you do as city commissioner to continue to foster equity elect U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and went on to help create affordable housing in New York City for people living with AIDS. Too and inclusion for sexual minorities? bad Fish disagrees with the Multnomah County com 3. Do you support marriage rights for same-sex couples? missioners’ process in opting for marriage equality. We We considered the responses to these questions along with the candi We...chose candidates vehemently oppose the recall effort against Commis dates’ overall platforms and experience. We then chose sioners Lisa Naito and Maria Rojo de Steffey, and we candidates who we feel sure will do a great job for the who we fe e l sure w ill do urge you to vote for them in May and in the future. sexual minorities community in Portland as well as the a great job for the sexual We were divided on the race for City Council Posi city at large. 4. Ultimately we decided that Randy Leonard In the mayors race, our choice was clear. Tom Pot m inorities community in tion hasn’t been given enough time to demonstrate his ter has an outstanding record in the sexual minorities potential on the council. It’s simply too soon to replace community, and he has shown strong leadership, Portland as w ell as the him. He also has more experience and makes a passion integrity and commitment to the city of Portland. His city a t large ate case for equality. Leonard has a good track record on pioneering role in making the Portland Police Bureau a queer issues, supports same-sex marriage rights and has welcoming workplace for sexual minority officers gives endorsements from many labor unions— a combination of attributes we him the edge over Phil Busse, who seems equally sup find impressive. portive of queer rights hut lacks experience. We might he inclined to consider openly gay candidates Frank Dixon Busse gets our kudos for mobilizing young voters and for represent ing a refreshing, intelligent, younger perspective. Jim Francesconi is or Aaron Hall if their campaigns didn’t seem so rushed and disorganized. Beware of Mary Ann Schwab, who believes in the Webster dictionary def not queer-unfriendly, hut he makes us nervous by qualifying his support o f “civil” marriage for same-sex couples. Also, some of us remain dis inition of “marriage” and thinks it’s OK to make same-sex couples endure appointed that he scuttled a resolution that would have declared Port a complex contractual process to receive the partnership protections that automatically come with traditional marriages. land’s opposition to the war on Iraq. In general, we found it heartening that a number of well-meaning, The wackiest candidate, Scott Campbell (aka Extremo the Clown), community-minded individuals have thrown their hats in the ring; how scores points for shooting straight on marriage equality: “Drop it, you nutty Christians.” Scott Ketchum gets demerits for calling homosexuali ever, some of us were troubled by how few women are running. Alicia Salaz ty a “lifestyle," while Rosalinda Mitchell contradicts herself by calling for is a bright spot with her advocacy for sexual minorities and domestic vio lence survivors. Unfortunately, her only listed qualification is being a stu equality in employment hut not in marriage. Notably, James Posey did dent at Portland State University. JM not respond to our questionnaire. Though many pundits have claimed the top two candidates for City Council Position 1 are nearly indistinguishable, we see clear differences. PRIMARY V ELECTION 1 _ _ _ ENDORSEMENTS o prepare our primary election endorsements for the city of Portland, Just Out sent a questionnaire to each candidate. We asked: colege radio community radio norvœ m m eraal rado S^Sunoon-2am M /F5pm -2am c ity -w id e sofas chairs Ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. May 18. Just Out does not make endorsements in every electoral contest. • Portland Mayor: Tom Potter • Portland City Council, Position 1: Sam Adams • Portland City Council, Position 4: Randy Leonard • Multnomah County Commissioner, District 1: Maria Rojo de Steffey • Multnomah County Commissioner, District 3: Lisa Naito • Judge of the Supreme Court, Position 4: Rives Kistler 1 .;; .' ;x, i ■ : - . i 'Eli! flftTiUL fURMTURl KPSU 1450 AM Pledge Drive April 11-24 Kp6U.org webcast 24/7 ncrecRble diversity offioe: 503-725-5669 artico 3 6 3 0 SE Division St. Portland, Oregon (5 0 3 ) 2 3 0 -2 5 2 2 Custom Sofas Choice o f 1 0 0 s o f fabrics!
