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Show 6 The Dally Utah Chronicle McKeown, Corradini Both Court Gay Vote 5k 1 Cws McKeown Pandering for Votes Mayoral candidate Rich McKeown may be receiving his first lesson in practical politics before our very eyes. I CNlUZHm In October, McKeown promised the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats that he would sign an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation when it comes to hiring of city employees. In fact, of GLUD, said David Nelson, president and that McKeown even made the order a priority, vowing that "he would sign that executive order the first week in office." GLUD was apparendy pleased with the candidate's commitment, took his promise at face value, and the day after McKeown made the promise, he won GLUD's endorsement. Then, two weeks later, the promise began to make the papers and McKeown began to receive criticism for his stance. McKeown immediately backed down from his previous statement, saying that he only promised to issue a memo discouraging unfair hiring practices, a significant shift in position. The lesson McKeown has to learn from this experience is twofold. First, it shows that he has a good deal to learn about the office of mayor and the structures of government that are in place to govern this city. The mayor is supposed to work in conjunction with the city council to ensure that public input and democratic principles are upheld. The second lesson is that he shouldn't pander for votes if he's not willing to stand by his position if it so happens that he takes heat when the issue becomes public. McKeown courted a constituency that is unpopular in some circles, for the sake of votes. When he realized that he may have more votes to lose than to gain by aligning himself with GLUD, McKeown took steps to try to distance himself from his original commitments, siding line that "gays and leswith a much more traditional, wishy-washbians should not be given preferred treatment." There's nothing wrong with being outspoken on a topic such as homosexual issues, as long as you say what you believe and you're not doing it for cosmetic purposes or a few extra points in the polls. The term is pandering and while it is common among today's politicians, it also is part of the reason people have lost so much faith in government. While Nelson and GLUD have said they will not rescind their endorsement, they should question how committed McKeown is to their cause. If his promises don't even make it until the election, how much good are they going to be if he wins the office? er y Mayor Exploiting Homophobia Campaign promises are nothing a new, especially this close to an It would be naive to believe that every promise a candidate makes is going to be fulfilled. But candidates would be equally naive to believe that promises broken will be easily forgiven by their constituents. Salt Lake City Mayor Decdee Corradini apparendy hasn't figured this out That may explain why she's . trying to get such political mileage out of reported promises made by mayoral opponent Rich McKeown to Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD). During her first run for the office, Corradini made several promises to the same group, including meetings with gay and lesbian leaden to discuss hate crimes legislation and employment protections. Despite receiving endorsements and support from the gay and lesbian community, these promised meetings fell apart shortly after they were scheduled due to what was later explained away as scheduelcc-tio- ling conflicts. This year challenger McKeown promised GLUD a citywidc executive order including sexual orientation as a category of job protection, as well as support for a municipal ordinance to that effect Not surprisingly, GLUD gave its endorsement to McKeown. Now Corradini and several Salt Lake City Council members are trying to twist the situation into a campaign issue for the incumbent mayor, claiming that mayoral executive orders arc inappropriate because they usurp the city council's legislative authority. "Corradini's campaign is trying to make this an issue," KSL reporter Scott Seeger said on Thursday's 6 p.m. news broadcast, referring to a Corradini campaign memo on the subject faxed directly from the mayor's office and not from Corradini's campaign headquarters. What Corradini doesn't seem to realize is that mayoral executive orders are fairly common, and may or may not hold legislative weight, depending on the respective city's government structure. In fact, over 150 cities around the country have already enacted similar executive orders specific to gay and lesbian inclusion in existing civil rights protections. In an apparent attempt to mollify gay and lesbian voters, Corradini took credit in a Wednesday Salt Lake Tribune article for installing a gay and lesbian liaison with the Salt Lake Police Department, and initiating police sensitivity training on gay and lesbian issues. The claim is ridiculous in light of the fact that Corradini has held office only since 1991, but the programs she mentioned have been in place since the mid-'80- s. Corradini's latest tactics amount to a shameless exploitation of conservative homophobia and misrepresen- tation in the media. Corradini's do not match her record. Salt Lake City voters should not be fooled by this latest words non-issu- e. Reverse Racism Threatens U.S. Freedom Editor: This is an open letter to African-American- s. Around 200 years ago, my forefathers brought human beings, primarily of a different skin color, to this land as slaves. This meant that as slaves, you were treated even less like human beings than the way women were treated. Rape, murder and isolation were a way of life, and you were born into this way of life whether you liked it or not. You were born slaves and died slaves. Freedom was not an option. Even those who were given freedom in writing were only really free in writing. Then came the abolition of slav- ery and then everyone was free regardless of race, color or nationality. However, those first three amendments, and following acts of Congress, never said anything about discrimination or separatism. Again, you were only free in until there were those writing - among you who had the courage to stand up to the way things were, because they knew it was wrong, and they knew things had to change. Well, times have changed. My ancestors basically forced you into a way of life you didn't want. There was a way out, however, and you found it even though it was like trying to pass a gallstone the size of a baseball. Now you're faced with a new problem. It seems that you're still sec "Radsm" on page 7 - Utah Drinking Laws Are Intrusive n f) f Matt Cuszmano Chronicle Editorial Columnist Halloween only comes once a year, and hopefully that one special day turns out to be a good time for all. Unfortunately for me, my Halloween was a complete dud. I chose to go to the highly advertised Disco Inferno at the State Fair Park. Bootie Quake was promoted as the headline band, and there was supposed to be plenty of 3.2 on hand. What I didn't take into account was the certain realities that make Salt Lake a terrible place to party. The party at the fair park was a fiasco for several reasons. For one, there was an woman running the keg. She couldn't come close to meeting the demand of what appeared to be nearly 500 people. I could have dealt with the horrible acoustics, West Valley crowd, and the $7 cover, if there had been enough booze. The second major problem was the overabundance of uniformed police officers. I don't know how other people feel about partying arm in arm with a bunch of cops, but, for me, it generally dampens the atmosphere. Recently I went to a fraternity party at one of the University of Utah firats. It was a pretty good party. I managed to get in without being on the guest list, and, generally, was having a good time. It struck me as odd mat a little U. police guy was cruising around the party. I wondered if perhaps he was a. friend of one of the frat brothers and had stopped by after work. Then I saw him start to give people the shake down. It was kind of like having a party referee. It seems a little Orwellian to have a government representative patrolling a private function, making sure that nobody is partying outside of the allowed methods of having fun. Rather "the government thinks that the more time you spend in the bathroom, the less time you'll spend drinking, this line of thinking is especially flawed, con- sidering the number of people who can drink in the bathroom." than reacting to a problem if one should arise, the U. cops investigate and monitor all possible wrong doers before any probable cause exists. I had the feeling at the frat party that I was doing something wrong and the cop may come over and shake mc down at any given time. Sure enough it happened. He must have had that sixth sense only cops have, because he knew one of my friends must have been doing something wrong. My friend, who was three days away from 21, was carrying a half-ful- l beer. I made him aware that we were under surveillance and he quickly threw it away. Johnny law was too smart for us though, and cited my friend in the middle of the party, over the sound of the band, for minor in possession of alcohol. Then die officer ejected us from the party saying we weren't welcome in frat parties because we were law breakers. I guess I should feel lucky because the policeman threatened to cite me for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I r cently read an article discussing the campus police's new surveillance system. Did you know that there are people being paid to monitor cameras that are placed all over campus in hopes of spying on some criminal action? The police feel that they must watch over us at all times! I never realized the security measures that take place on a college campus. You would think that we were all a bunch of I think that the state of Utah, along with the University of Utah, feels they have an obligation to reduce the amount of alcohol students consume. I look at the hoops we have to jump through to get a decent drink and wonder if all the efforts have any affect other than inconex-con- veniencing people. The state of Utah has made it illegal for private citizens to own, use, buy or have anything to do with a keg. What purpose does this law serve? Does the state think that people will drink more if IM "Polkf on paf 1 |
