Guilford Alliance news [October 1988]

              The
Guilford Alliance
M
&W4,
{Elections)
Traditionally, voters
who care about gay and
lesbian issues have had
to vote "blind", since
candidates' stands on issues are usually unstated Politicians
and elected officials often are not even aware thatthey have gay
constituents, much less what their concerns might be. In order
to acquaint candidates with our concerns .and educate ourselves about the candidates, the Alliance has queried all local
candidates about their stands on lots of important issues like
AIDS funding, anti-gay violence, and civil rights for gays.
In Early August the Guilford Alliance sent a candidate questionnaire to all Guilford County Candidates for the North Carolina
General Assembly. Candidates were informed that their responses would be publicized.
After receiving no responses (despite our enclosure of a
stamped pre addressed envelope) we attempted to personally
contact each candidate and allowthem to respond on the phone.
Thirteen of the nineteen candidates were contacted and some
of their comments are listed below. A few candidates indicated
a willingness to listen to our concerns, others told us they threw
our questionnaire "in the trash can", and the rest were noncommittal
One Greensboro activist was not surprised at the comments
made by rep. Frank "Trip" Sizemore (R, House 27) and Rep.
Michael Decker (R, House 29). They have bothleadthe fightfor
mandatory AIDS testing and other discriminatory legislation.
Both have also expressed support for quarantining people with
AIDS.
Supportive statements came from Sen. Mary Seymour (D,
Senate 32) and Maggie Jeffus (D, House 27).
Several candidates thoughtthe questions were biasedandgave
thatasanexcusefornotresponding. in one of the more negative
responses, Rob Angle (R) in the three-member House 27 race
told our interviewer that gays and lesbians have "no right to
organize politicallybecause we only do itto relieve one another
in our sinful guilt." He then invited our caller to his church.
Another local activist, John Meal, while talking about the up
coming election, said "If you wouldn't vote for Jesse Helms,
then don't vote for Howard Coble or Trip Sizemore, They are
less vocal butno less offensive and they all three vote the same
way."
This was probably the first time local politicians have been
polled by a Gay/Lesbian organization Hopefully they will be
more forthcoming in the future. Whatever their position, they
are certainly now aware of their gay and lesbian constituency.
Vote on November 8 and be sure your friends do also.
Below are the results from our questionnaire. No candidate
returned the questionnaire and with the exception of Maggie
Jeffus no candidate responded in writing. Therefore the comments below were over the phone. "" indicates no response
even by phone otherwise items in quotes .are direct quotes of
the candidates or their campaigns.
Senate District 19
Frank Cottrell(D)-""
Bob Shaw (R)-""
Senate District 31
William (Bill) Martin (D) - Indicated he would respond
but we have not received his questionnaire.
Senate District 32
Mar; Seymour (D) - She will try to respond. She
understands our situation and has a listening year.
Richard Chalk (P.) - He was stackedup with questionnaires, wiil try to fill it out
House District 26
Herman Gist (D) - "People are People"
David King (R) -""
House District 27
Maggie Jeffus (D) -"I support human and civil rights
for all citizens, but until I have had an opportunity to carefully
review the phrasing of proposedlegislation, its potential (fiscal)
impact on our state and community, the need for legislative
action and numerous other factors. I cannot state what my
vote(s) would be. I do assure you that I will always be open to
and receptive to any input your organization may wish to offer
when and if such legislation is proposed"