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LOU CHIBBARO JR
Friday, August 15, 2008
D.C.
Council
members
Jack
Evans
(D-Ward
2)
and
Carol
Schwartz
(R-At-Large)
this
week
received
ratings
on
gay-related
issues
of
+10
and
+9
respectively
from
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance,
the
highest
ratings
the
group
issued
for
Council
candidates
running
in
the
city’s
Sept.
9
primary.
And
in
a
development
likely
to
surprise
some
Democratic
activists,
GLAA
assigned
Ward
8
Council
member
and
former
D.C.
Mayor
Marion
Barry
a
+3.5
rating,
despite
Barry’s
reputation
in
the
1980s
and
1990s
as
one
of
the
nation’s
most
gay-supportive
mayors.
GLAA,
a
non-partisan
gay
advocacy
group,
rates
candidates
on
mostly
gay-
and
AIDS-related
issues
using
a
scale
of
-10
to
+10
based
on
candidates’
responses
to
a
detailed
questionnaire
as
well
as
their
records
and
actions
on
gay-related
issues.
GLAA
Vice
President
Rick
Rosendall
said
Barry’s
rating
was
based,
in
part,
on
the
former
mayor’s
stated
position
on
the
questionnaire
opposing
legal
recognition
of
same-sex
marriage
and
an
overall
lack
of
depth
and
detail
in
his
responses
on
other
issues
in
the
questionnaire.
Other
than
the
marriage
issue,
Barry
expressed
support
for
nearly
all
other
issues
deemed
important
by
GLAA.
Barry’s
marriage
response
on
the
GLAA
questionnaire
comes
in
contrast
to
his
statement
on
the
subject
at
a
recent
meeting
of
the
Gertrude
Stein
Democratic
Club,
in
which
Barry
said
he
would
vote
for
a
same-sex
marriage
bill
if
such
a
bill
were
to
come
before
the
Council.
The
Stein
Club
endorsed
Barry’s
re-election
bid,
citing
his
strong
record
on
gay
rights
during
his
tenure
as
mayor
as
well
as
his
overall
support
for
gay
rights
as
a
Council
member.
“Do
you
support
legal
recognition
of
marriages
between
partners
of
the
same
sex?”
the
GLAA
questionnaire
asks.
“No,”
Barry
says
in
response.
“I
support
civil
unions
and
domestic
partnerships.”
Barry
said
through
a
spokesperson
that
he
opposes
same-sex
marriage
on
religious
grounds,
but
would
vote
for
a
marriage
bill
if
it
came
before
the
Council.
The
spokesperson,
Andre
Johnson,
said
Barry
considers
the
issue
similar
to
his
position
on
abortion.
He
opposes
abortion,
but
thinks
women
should
have
a
right
to
choose.
The
group
assigned
a
rating
of
+8.5
to
Carry
Silverman,
Evans’
Democratic
primary
opponent,
highlighting
what
some
Ward
2
observers
are
calling
Evans’
most
serious
challenge
since
he
first
won
his
seat
on
the
Council
in
1991.
Evans,
whose
ward
includes
some
of
the
city’s
most
concentrated
gay
neighborhoods,
including
Dupont
Circle,
is
viewed
by
most
gay
activists
as
one
of
the
Council’s
strongest
supporters
of
gay
rights.
Silverman’s
supporters,
who
acknowledge
that
Evans’
record
on
gay
rights
is
excellent,
point
to
Silverman’s
contention
that
Evans
has
not
paid
sufficient
attention
in
recent
years
to
quality
of
life
issues
in
the
ward.
Evans
disputes
that
assertion,
saying
he
has
pushed
for
neighborhood
projects
and
programs
throughout
the
ward,
noting
that
most
neighborhood
leaders
are
backing
his
re-election
bid.
Kwame
Brown
(D-At-Large)
received
a
+6.5
rating
from
GLAA
in
his
race
in
the
at-large
Democratic
primary.
Brown
has
been
a
strong
supporter
of
gay
rights
but
lost
points
in
the
GLAA
rating
due
to
his
opposition
to
legislation
providing
certain
liquor
law
exceptions
to
help
relocate
gay
clubs
displaced
by
the
new
baseball
stadium.
GLAA
gave
Schwartz’s
primary
opponent,
Republican
newcomer
Patrick
Mara,
a
rating
of
+2.
The
group
cited
his
lack
of
a
record
on
gay
issues
and
failure
to
provide
substantive
answers
on
the
questionnaire,
even
though
Mara
also
agreed
with
nearly
all
issues
deemed
important
by
GLAA.
He
said
he
supports
legal
recognition
of
same-sex
marriage.
Similar
to
Silverstein,
Mara
represents
Schwartz’s
first
serious
primary
challenge
during
her
own
lengthy
tenure
on
the
Council.
Although
Schwartz
has
received
strong
support
from
Democratic
voters,
including
gay
Democrats,
in
the
November
general
elections,
some
political
observers
say
her
status
this
year
among
the
small
pool
of
registered
Republican
voters
who
will
decide
her
fate
in
the
Sept.
9
primary
is
uncertain.
Mara
has
criticized
Schwartz
for
not
supporting
Mayor
Adrian
Fenty’s
school
takeover
program,
which
Fenty
has
said
is
needed
to
reform
the
city’s
troubled
school
system.
A
number
of
key
local
business
groups
are
backing
Mara
and
making
large
contributions
to
his
campaign,
in
part,
because
of
Schwartz’s
support
for
employee
benefits
legislation
that
the
groups
claim
is
anti-business.
Schwartz
disputes
Mara’s
criticism,
calling
him
a
candidate
for
“special
interests”
in
the
city.
If
Schwartz
wins
the
primary,
as
many
political
observers
expect,
she
will
likely
face
two
pro-gay
independents
in
the
general
election,
attorney
and
Ward
1
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commissioner
Dee
Hunter
and
businessman
and
former
Democratic
Party
leader
Michael
Brown.
In
other
races,
GLAA
gave
Ward
4
Council
member
Muriel
Bowser,
a
Democrat,
a
+5.5
rating
and
Ward
7
Democratic
Council
member
Yvette
Alexander
a
-0.5
rating.
GLAA
said
Alexander’s
rating
was
based
on
her
failure
to
return
the
questionnaire,
which
the
group
says
results
in
an
automatic
“0”
rating
unless
GLAA
learns
of
a
candidate’s
record
on
gay-related
issues.
Candidates
not
returning
the
questionnaire
can
get
a
rating
of
between
-4
and
+4
depending
on
whether
their
known
record
on
gay
issues
is
good
or
bad,
according
to
GLAA.
Rosendall
said
that
Alexander’s
record
is
mixed,
but
her
opposition
to
the
bill
allowing
the
gay
clubs
displaced
by
the
stadium
to
relocate
resulted
in
her
receiving
a
negative
score.
As
the
Blade
went
to
press,
Rosendall
said
Alexander’s
office
informed
GLAA
that
Alexander
was
unable
to
complete
the
questionnaire
in
time
for
the
group’s
ratings
meeting
Tuesday
night
but
that
she
plans
to
return
the
questionnaire
within
the
next
day
or
two.
GLAA
will
accept
the
questionnaire
and
revise
her
rating
if
her
responses
warrant
a
revision,
Rosendall
said.
Most
political
observers
consider
Barry,
Alexander,
and
Bowser
to
be
the
strong
favorites
to
win
their
September
primary
races.
Following
is
a
list
of
the
ratings
GLAA
gave
to
all
primary
candidates,
...
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