Posted on 05/07/2007 2:10:12 PM PDT by buccaneer81
County GOP might put gay candidate on ballot Party could attract new supporters with City Council pick Monday, May 7, 2007 By Robert Vitale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Republicans who alienated gay voters with the 2004 same-sex marriage ban in Ohio now view them as potential allies in their fight to regain a foothold at City Hall.
Franklin County GOP leaders are considering an openly gay candidate to join this fall's City Council slate, a move they hope might peel away support from one of the Democrats' most loyal voting blocs.
Brad Sinnott, chairman of the Republicans' county central committee, acknowledged that it would be a gamble.
Council Democrats irritated many in Columbus' gay community when they bypassed two openly gay finalists for a midterm appointment last month.
Would a gay Republican attract their support? Would he or she risk losing social conservatives inside the party?
"There's no track record on that subject," Sinnott said.
Republicans have yet to select candidates for two slots on the Nov. 6 ballot, so GOP leaders wouldn't identify the person they're considering.
Columbus voters will choose five City Council members this year. Democrats now hold all five of the seats, as well as two others for which terms run through 2009.
The City Council's first and only openly gay member, Democrat Mary Jo Hudson, resigned in January to join Gov. Ted Strickland's administration.
Neither she nor Democrat Patsy Thomas, who resigned in April to become a Franklin County Municipal Court judge, was replaced with a gay representative.
"People feel it's important to have a voice," said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, a statewide gay civil-rights group.
Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio, a group of gay party members that gathered more than $50,000 in campaign pledges for one of the rejected council applicants, had considered sitting out of the fall races but instead voted last week to be more selective in its endorsements.
"It used to be if they said they supported the gay community we endorsed them," said Russ Goodwin, the group's president.
Although Stonewall Democrats didn't want to alienate their party by boycotting the council elections, Democratic leaders shouldn't count on the $50,000 in pledges to materialize for anyone else, Goodwin said.
But a gay Republican shouldn't count on support from a group of gay Democrats, he added. Stonewall Democrats' bylaws prohibit endorsements for Republicans and independents, Goodwin said.
What about gay voters in general?
"That would be a real conundrum," he said. "I don't know what would happen in the community if a gay Republican would run."
Exit polls from the 2004 presidential election showed more than three-quarters of gay voters nationwide supported Democrat John Kerry. After blacks, gays were the most loyal bloc of voters for Democrats.
Bowman said gay voters have supported Democrats because the party's values have been more in sync with their own.
Chris Hayes, editor and publisher of Outlook Weekly, said his gay-oriented newspaper has endorsed both Republicans and Democrats. Gay voters are sophisticated enough to look deeper than party labels and sexual orientation, he said.
A gay Republican who supports gay rights would be welcomed, he said.
Sinnott said GOP leaders didn't set out to find a gay candidate for the City Council. Sexual orientation is "part of a candidate's profile," he said, just like professional background or ethnicity.
"We're not recruiting a candidate because of sexual orientation, nor are we precluding a candidate because of sexual orientation," Sinnott said.
rvitale@dispatch.com
Central Ohio idiocy ping.
Sun spots!! I blame sun spots and DDT!!
So here’s a key question — Are gays supposed to be Democrats because they are supposed to toe the party line and be good liberals?
If power is all that matters, why don't they just switch parties?
wouldnt it be funny if he was a better conservative than the straight guy?
If a conservative Republican is gay does that make him more or less qualified for the job?
Frankly it shouldn't be an issue, and it shouldn't be something that the party is trying to use to garner the “gay” vote.
Why should anyone have a problem with this? If this candidate is libertarian and would not promote the gay agenda, who cares? This is different from openly gay clergy.
Sheesh. Don’t they realize how many voters they’d be turning off if they do this? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Why not? We’ve certainly got them in Washington State.
If they do that then the democrats already won.
They learned nothing from foley.
A good candidate is a good candidate no matter what.
As Yogi Berra might have said, “I have one word about this; Remember Mark Foley.”
There is a big difference (maybe.) Foley was an "in your face" social conservative who turned out to be a pathetic hypocrite. All we know about these guys are that they are gay. I don't like lawyers. However, I would vote for one if he were the best candidate and he did not pander to the trial lawyers.
If these guys do not promote the gay agenda and do not support gay marriage etc., what is the problem.
When you find relevant articles that might fit the homosexual agenda ping list, feel free to ping me and/or wagglebee. We both do it.
I’ll ping this out later.
GOP: Gay Old Party ???
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