O REGO N S LE SBIAN/GAY/Bl/TRAN S/QUE E R NEWSMAGAZINE
JULY Ib. 2010 | 3
J I m V
PROFILE
I work at the county and am running to rep
resent District 2. That data points to areas
where we can work better to improve health
outcomes for our community and as commis
sioner I will research the recommendations
from groups like the Native American Youth
Association and the Urban League to find
the significant policy changes that will make
a marked difference.
JO: Especially considering your work
with Basic Rights Oregon, could you reiter
ate your stance on marriage equality?
Collymore: I believe
in, support and will con
tinue to fight for marriage
equality—no question
about it. Telling a group
of people they aren’t al
lowed the protections of
the law, the celebration
with family, the inclusion
in community because
they love someone of the
same gender is inherently
unfair. And I will say that
whenever I can.
JO: What kind of city
commissioner do you in-
tend to be, especially to
the underserved popula
tions you speak of?
Karol Coll/m ore
Collymore: I intend
to be a very involved, collaborative and in
clusive commissioner. This office is legislative,
and so there aren’t many parameters. It can
be as productive as one wants it to be. Great
work has been done for underserved popula
tions in District 2 like opening a new library,
creating a farm for at-risk youth at the Ju
venile Justice Center and a larger scale farm
that grows food for local food banks. I plan to
continue in that tradition of innovative solu
tions to complex problems.
JO: What do you mean when you de
scribe this position as being the “ideal envi
ronment for activism”?
Collymore: The county commissioner
seats are ideal for social activism. One can help
create [innovative] programs like the CROPS
farm in Troutdale, the St. Johns Farmers
Market in North Portland, or include health
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care as a parameter for contracting. All these
things create positive social change. When
the state allowed domestic partnerships, but
had different rules for same-sex couples reg
istering, District 2 staff all became notaries
public so that community members didn’t
have to pay a notary or leave the building and
come back to get their forms. This is the kind
of positive thing we can do.
JO: What have you heard, from the LG-
BTQ_ community in particular, regarding
priorities of most concern?
Collymore: I think
the issues of the LG-
BTQ_ community are
not that different. They
want protection in the
social safety net. They
want defense from
hate crimes and dis
crimination. They want
their children in safe
schools, libraries and
playgrounds.
JO: You mention
hate crimes and dis
crimination.
Have
you played any part
with QCenter and the
Q_ Patrol that’s been
developing?
Collymore: I was a
board member at the Q_Center and have a
positive relationship with [Executive Direc
tor] Kendall Clawson. I’m happy that the
center found a building in District 2, and I
am happy the QPatrol has been developed to
protect communities from hate crimes.
JO: Smith said that you two were not that
different in your views, and your support of
the LGBTQ^community in particular. She
also mentioned the historic nature of two
African-American women running in this
race. What is your take on her comments?
Collymore: My approach is different be
cause I am different. I thrive on bringing a
multitude of people together for good work.
I’ve done that over the years but there is still
work to be done. I’m excited to stay at the
county and bring
energy to the board of
commissioners.
Portland
503.227.1212
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