outlook: columbus

the end all be all awards

Elections 2010 – outlook’s General Election Endorsements

by Chris Hayes and Michael Daniels

In our May issue, we gave you our primary thoughts, and now it’s time to share with you how we see the November 2010 elections and our choice of candidates. It’s not too early to start thinking about these critical races.

Let’s start with a recap of the top of the ticket state races. We spelled these out for you in May and will reproduce them here for completeness. Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor candidate Yvette McGee Brown, Secretary of State candidate Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy, State Treasurer Kevin Boyce, State Auditor candidate David Pepper, State Attorney General Richard Cordray, and Chief Justice Eric Brown all have our endorsement. Here’s why.

Strickland is a longtime ally of our community, and his running mate, YMB, knows us and our issues. From signing an executive order prohibiting GLBT discrimination to supporting HB176 to implementing policies at the YWCA that were pro-GLBT, this dynamic duo has our backs, and we have theirs. Their opposition, former Congressman John Kasich and current State Auditor Mary Taylor are anti-progressive teabaggers with nothing to show in terms of support of diversity or valuing anyone who is not a donor to their campaigns. Granted that Ted hasn’t championed any new legislation and just reinstated an old executive order, he has made some progress. He’s also been busy dealing with a budget deficit China would love to get financed and we all know the second ‘nothing left to lose’ term is where he can let it all gay out. We strongly suggest he does.

O’Shaughnessy has been a strong supporter of our community during her time on Columbus City Council and will continue the openness and diversity that the SOS office has enjoyed for the past four years. Her opponent, State Senator John Husted, has voted with our community on the issue of GLBT adoption, but his current run to the right, touting himself as the only ‘true’ conservative in his own primary, gives us pause as to how far he will bow to the right-wing powers that control his purse strings.

Cordray’s credentials are beyond question, having received HRC awards long before it was fashionable to do so, and Boyce was a strong progressive voice on Columbus City Council. Both have continued their commitments to our issues in their current offices and should be retained. Cordray’s opponent is former US Senator Mike DeWine, who has shown his true colors in voting against us time and time again at the federal level. Boyce’s opponent is, perhaps, the most insidious candidate running. Josh Mandel supported full GLBT equality when he was student body president at OSU, yet voted against HB176 as ‘not good for business.’ Hypocrisy is the worst form of politics. Shame on you, Mandel.

Pepper has shown moxie as a Commissioner in blood red Hamilton County, supporting repeal of their punitive anti-GLBT legislation and championing progressive causes. Eric Brown is among our strongest, most vocal allies on the bench, and remains so at the Supreme Court.

In the other race for Ohio Supreme Court, we like Judge Mary Jane Trapp. A progressive who knows how to win in deep-red country, Trapp has a long history with women’s and minority issues, and was instrumental in bringing a course titled “Access to Justice and Fairness in the Courts: Sexual Orientation” to the Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College. She has a proven track record of fairness, service, and distinguished legal knowledge and experience, and she deserves our vote in November.

For US Senate, we endorse Lt Governor Lee Fisher over former Congressman Rob Portman. Fisher is a longtime friend of the community, who has, for decades, supported HRC and stood up for HIV/AIDS when no one else would, and has recently stated his support for full marriage equality. We’re 100% Fisher. Go Lee!

The US Congressional races are also easy for us – we endorse incumbent Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy in the OH-15 over former State Senator Steve Stivers, and Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks in the OH-12 over incumbent Congressman Pat Tiberi. Both of these ladies have fought for us, and we now are committed to fight for them.

For Franklin County Commissioner, we endorse longtime ally of our community Marilyn Brown in her re-election bid. Marilyn has been instrumental in bringing domestic partner benefits to County workers and is among the most progressive politicians anywhere in Ohio.

For Franklin County Auditor, our choice is our very own Terry J. Brown. TJ is highly qualified with a deep and thorough understanding of property valuation and tax implementation – the #1 role of the County Auditor. He brings a perspective to this office that is much needed, and would be the first openly-GLBT candidate elected to County office.

For Court of Appeals, 10th District, we’re behind Edward Parks and Julia Dorrian. Parks is the underdog in his race against sitting Judge Judi French who ran against Tom Tootle years ago and wasn’t above gay-baiting to win her robes – intolerable in any candidate, particularly unseemly in a jurist. Dorrian continues the family tradition of excellence, service, and commitment to the entire community and will make an excellent Appeals Court judge.

For the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, we support Ron Plymale, Judge Julie Lynch, Mark Serrott, Judge Pat Sheeran, Judge Laurel Beatty, Judge John Bender, Judge Richard Frye, and Judge Kimberly Cocroft in the general division, newly-appointed Judge Alan Acker for the probate bench, and Jamie Campbell for the domestic division. We are confident that all of these candidates are aware of how their immensely powerful roles as judges impact our community and are sensitive and fair to us and to our concerns.

For the Ohio House of Representatives, we endorse incumbents Marian Harris (H19), Nancy Garland (H20), John Patrick Carney (H22), Ted Celeste (H24), Tracy Heard (H26), and W Carlton Weddington (H27). They all backed HB176 and are friends of the progressive community.

We endorse David Robinson in his bid for H21, Steven Harp in H23, and Michael Stinziano in H25. Robinson showed our community his commitment and aptitude in his run for US House two years ago and will make an excellent State Representative. Harp is an admitted long-shot in his race, but we’re behind him and would like nothing more than to see Cheryl Grossman sent packing after her insulting and unnecessary vote against HB176. Stinziano is youthful, bright, connected, savvy, and we feel that he is one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party who will be a strong progressive voice in the House.

For the Ohio Senate, we strongly endorse Charleta Tavares in her race for S15. Tavares is a veteran of the House and the voice of social consciousness on the Columbus City Council. She will be our strongest ally in the Ohio Senate.

In the race for S3, we give the nod to Libertarian candidate William Yarbrough. He is a young, energetic candidate with a commitment to fairness and equality. His Republican opponent, Kevin Bacon, voted against HB176, and the rogue Democrat, Mark Pfeifer, has been sued by the Democratic Party for his underhanded primary tactics and has repeatedly expressed his support for anti-equality Constitutional amendments and DOMA legislation. The people of this district deserve a Senator who will represent all of them as equals and that candidate is Bill Yarbrough.

And last but not least, history in the making; we wholeheartedly support Nickie Antonio, the out lesbian Democratic candidate for state representative in Ohio House District 13. Antonio is currently a member of the Lakewood City Council and has lived in Lakewood with her partner and two daughters for over 25 years. There is no GOP candidate for this seat and since the Independent dropped out, Nickie will be the only candidate for H13 on the November ballot, which means she’ll win her election and will be sworn-in in January as Ohio’s first openly gay state legislator! Rock on!

A New Tradition – outlook’s Primary Endorsements

by Chris Hayes and Michael Daniels

There’s a first time for everything, and now is the time that we set a new tradition and begin endorsing in primary contests. As ever, we’ll give it to you as we see it. Get out your pitchforks, torches, and absentee ballots and read on.

Let’s start at the top of the ticket. Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor candidate Yvette McGee Brown, Secretary of State candidate Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy, State Treasurer Kevin Boyce, State Auditor candidate David Pepper, State Attorney General Richard Cordray, and (soon to be) Chief Justice Eric Brown are all running unopposed in the primary. Guess what, we endorse them all. Shocking? Not really, but here’s the new and fun part. We also endorse the entire statewide Democratic ticket in the November general election. Here’s why.

O’Shaughnessy has been a strong supporter of our community during her time on Columbus City Council and will continue the openness and diversity that office has enjoyed for the past four years. Her opponent, State Senator John Husted, has voted with our community on the issue of GLBT adoption, but his current run to the right, touting himself as the only ‘true’ conservative in his own primary, gives us pause as to how far he will bow to the right-wing powers that control his purse strings.

We also strongly endorse Issue 1, keeping tech jobs and research funding flowing and keeping the State’s economy growing strong.

Now for the part where you get out your petards and wooden stakes and come storming our doors – the contested races.

In the Democratic primary for US Senate, we endorse current Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Brunner is of those politicians who speaks her mind regardless of the cost, and she’s been one of the most pro-GLBT voices in Ohio for decades. She came out for full marriage equality before many of us even dared dream of it, and she’s never backed down from her full support of our community. Her challenger, Lt Governor Lee Fisher is also a longtime friend of the community, who has supported our causes and HRC for decades and stood up for HIV/AIDS when no one else would. Though Fisher is late to the table in his support of full marriage equality, he says he’s at the table now, so on our issues there isn’t much difference in the candidates. Our concern with Fisher is that in his current role we haven’t seen him be a driving force for change and we frankly just don’t find him a very appealing candidate. He doesn’t have a good track record at the polls, he carries the air of old political white guy, and we don’t think he could win in the fall against his Republican opponent. It’s the Eric Fingerhut syndrome. This race is a choice between a true progressive and an old-school Democrat, and we believe that Brunner is the best choice in this race.

In the race to replace State Senator Ray Miller in the Ohio 15th district, GLBT allies Dan Stewart, Charleta Tavares, and Oyango Snell are facing off in a very close primary battle. We like Snell’s youthfulness and activism, but his unwillingness to take a stand on marriage equality knocks him out of consideration for us. Stewart has served 8 years in the Ohio House and will carry working relationships and current clout to the Senate should he win. Tavares is a veteran of the House and the voice of social consciousness on the Columbus City Council. Either would be our strongest ally in the Ohio Senate on election. Possible detractions for the two include Stewart’s difficulty in moving legislation as a minority member, and Tavares’ close ties to Miller, who has destroyed his own credibility among members of both parties. In this race, Hayes is voting Tavares, Daniels’ vote is for Stewart.

Replacing Stewart in the Ohio 25th House district will be the winner between Michael Stinziano and John Sowers. We sat down with both of these gentlemen in our process of making this decision. We find Sowers to be sincere, committed, and refreshingly open about being gay. Stinziano is youthful, bright, connected, and savvy. When asked about his platform, he had specific tactical plans for achieving his goals, compared to the wide brush Sowers approached with. After much consideration, we believe that Stinziano is the better prepared, better connected choice to win the seat in the fall and have confidence that he will be a strong progressive voice in the House – and we endorse him in this race.

On Issue 2 – whether to move the casino to the west side or leave it in the Arena District – we thought long and hard about whether to even bring this up, given that everyone else has backed the move. But we are who we are, and we think that the casino belongs in the Arena District and thus will be voting no. We believe that keeping downtown urban density is critical. Fill up the urban core and then expand outward. We all know the stability of the Arena District is in jeopardy, and the casino would be an anchor, especially if we lose the Blue Jackets. We do not believe that the west side will suddenly become a boomtown just because the casino is located out there. Jobs will be created regardless, and west side residents will drive east on Broad Street to take them. We believe we are not alone in our opinion, but are alone in our willingness to say it publicly.

Our asbestos suits are ready. Bring on your fiery feedback.