Equality Arizona Phoenix Mayoral Forum
Posted by: Donna
Mark and I went to the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix for the Equality Arizona Mayoral Candidate Forum. The conference room was packed. Good job to Equality AZ folks on planning the event, especially to my friend Sam Castaneda Holdren, their communications director. The forum moderator was Channel 5 reporter Donna Rossi
I wanted to do a play-by-play but my netbook battery ran down too quickly for that (2 hours of battery life my butt) and I couldn’t take notes fast enough to get all the Q and As.
Greg Stanton (full disclosure I’m a supporter) was the clear winner. He sounded like a guy with vision and like a mayor. The other participants were former Libertarian candidate for AZ Secretary of State Thane Eichenauer, Republican political consultant Wes Gullet, and Phoenix City Councilman Claude Mattox. The candidates were asked about subjects ranging from LGBT equality to economic issues facing the city.
What really struck me was the level of support of all the candidates for LGBT rights. Mattox and Gullett, of course, were a tad bit equivocal on a couple of issues (marriage and discrimination).
Stanton: Supports full equality in marriage. Supports banning anti-LGBT discrimination in housing and employment as part of the city code. “We need to send the message that we are an inclusive city.” Has marched in the Phoenix Pride Parade for the past ten years. Expressed commitment to stopping anti-gay bullying. Said the issue resonates with him personally because his brother-in-law was bullied in school for being gay. Supports efforts to expand access to safe, gender-neutral public restrooms for transgender residents.
Eichenauer: Says government shouldn’t sanction marriage. Government should stay out of housing issues. Supports expanding gender neutral restrooms. Supports anti-bullying efforts.
Gullett: Supports civil unions and says marriage should be left up to the church. Says the issue of housing and employment discrimination should be debated and discussed. “We need to bring everyone to the table.” Supports gender neutral restrooms and anti-bullying efforts
Mattox: Proud of his pro-LGBT rights record and of the city for implementing domestic partner benefits. Says if you love someone you should be able to spend your life with them. Says that he was bullied as a kid and that it’s a negative experience regardless of your orientation. Is for gender neutral restrooms.
Cathi Herrod’s not gonna like this one little bit.
I have some observations about the rest of the forum that I hope to get to tomorrow.
4 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
Great report. Looking forward to hearing more.
[...] for the mayoral spot. Here’s the rundown of the four candidates positions on GLBT issues via Democratic Diva: Stanton: Supports full equality in marriage. Supports banning anti-LGBT discrimination in housing [...]
[...] First depending on the audience he’s addressing. (Mitt, is that you?) Wes participated in the Equality Arizona Mayoral Forum a few months ago and sounded halfway decent on LGBT issues, coming out for civil unions, for gender neutral public restrooms, and against anti-LGBT bullying. [...]
[...] First depending on the audience he’s addressing. (Mitt, is that you?) Wes participated in the Equality Arizona Mayoral Forum a few months ago and sounded halfway decent on LGBT issues, coming out for civil unions, for gender neutral public restrooms, and against anti-LGBT bullying. [...]