Subject: G&L NEWS TELEGRAPH: GOVERNORS RACE OFFERS NO CLEAR CHOICE
From: Kevyn Jacobs <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 17:31:59 -0600 (CST)

From The Lesbian & Gay News-Telegraph
October 28 - November 10, 1994
[REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION]
=====================================

GOVERNOR'S RACE OFFERS NO CLEAR
CHOICE FOR LESBIAN AND GAY KANSANS
 
by Doug Glaze

	Historically, party identification has provided us with a good 
indicator of how a candidate will react when faced with anti-Gay 
proposals from radical conservatives. The Democratic party has been 
supportive of our community and its needs, while the Republican party 
has traditionally harbored our most dangerous enemies. However, the 
bipartisan organizing of radical conservatives in Kansas threatens to 
challenge our assumptions regarding who our friends are and where we 
may find them. 
 
        This presents the Lesbian and Gay community with a dilemma in the 
voting booth, and nowhere is this dilemma more clear than in the current 
Kansas Governor's race.
 
	Predictions regarding this year's elections for the 1995 Kansas 
House show a shift towards the Republican Party. Respected political 
organizations and activists have predicted the Republican majority could 
go as high as 80 seats. At the same time, radical conservatives have begun 
to infiltrate the Democratic party in Kansas. Several radical candidates 
for the House are running as Democrats. Depending on how many of them win, 
the number of radical conservatives in the House could double or triple.
Therefore, even if the Republican majority proves to be less than 
predicted, radical conservatives could form a controlling bipartisan faction.
 
	Because of this, the indications are that the radical right will 
almost certainly ask the next Governor of Kansas to support and sign 
anti-Gay legislative proposals. Lesbian and Gay Kansans will need a 
friend in the Governor's mansion more than ever before. 
 
        Unfortunately, neither candidate can clearly be relied upon to 
oppose anti-Gay proposals. 
 
	Democratic candidate for Governor Jim Slattery's campaign office 
regularly makes statements that, at first glance, appear supportive of 
equal rights for Lesbian and Gay Kansans. Jim McClean, press secretary 
for the Slattery campaign, has stated that Slattery "does not support 
legalizing discrimination against Lesbians and Gays, and would not support 
efforts to do so." The candidate himself, however, has yet to make a 
statement denouncing the radical conservatives' anti-Gay agenda, much 
less offered a statement of support for our rights.  
 
	An indication of how a Slattery administration would work with 
Lesbian and Gay Kansans comes from how he has thus far run his campaign. 
Slattery has distanced himself from women's groups while seeking support 
from radical conservative groups in a campaign tactic known as "playing 
both ends against the middle."  Slattery campaign workers speak highly 
of his "strong personal commitment" to equality for Lesbians and Gay men. 
Many activists in women's groups, however,  have complained of Slattery's
 willingness to compromise his personal beliefs in an effort to win votes 
from radical conservatives. 
 
	Would he be willing to compromise his "strong personal 
commitment" to our equality once elected Governor? Slattery has served as 
Congressman for Kansas' 2nd Congressional District since 1982. While 
representing Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives, Slattery actively 
opposed lifting the ban on Lesbians and Gay men in the U.S. armed forces. 
Congressman Slattery also voted to support the ban on HIV+ persons from 
entering our country, and voted to remove Washington D.C.'s domestic 
partnership ordinance. Indeed, the Human Rights Campaign Fund has given 
him an approval rating of only 14 percent on issues important to us. In the 
past, Slattery's personal beliefs have offered us little in the way of 
support when it has come to legislative matters. 
 
	On the other hand, running against Slattery is Republican Bill 
Graves. His campaign office regularly makes public statements clearly 
hostile to Lesbian and Gay Kansans. David Schlosser, a spokesman for the 
Graves campaign, has stated that Graves "do not believe homosexuals need 
special rights. He believes the Constitution protects everyone equally." 
 
        Obviously, his staffers don't know many Gay men or Lesbians. 
 
	However, it can be misleading to place too much emphasis on 
campaign staff, who in the heat of a campaign are likely to make 
statements that often do not accurately represent the candidate's own 
views. Bill Graves does not offer us a voting record to examine from his 
past experience as Kansas Secretary of State, but he has shown a desire 
to distance himself from the more radical elements of his party.
 
	Furthermore, Graves has demonstrated a willingness to work with 
various women's groups in an effort to win their support. Admitting that 
his past political experience offered him little opportunity to work on 
women's issues, Graves worked with leaders of women's groups to come up 
with some remarkably pro-woman, pro-choice positions for his campaign. 
 
        Would Bill Graves be willing to admit a similar lack of knowledge 
concerning Lesbian and Gay issues and work on developing positions as 
Governor that we could live with?  
 
	Many advocates for women's groups seem to think so, saying they 
are impressed with his ability to stand by his personal beliefs and his 
desire to learn. If this is true, the central question for Lesbian and 
Gay voters in Kansas is whether Bill Graves can out-maneuver the radical 
wing of his party. Sources in Grave's campaign say he is personally 
dedicated to staking out a more moderate position for the Republican party 
in Kansas, but they admit this will be difficult to accomplish.
 
	A microcosm of the dilemma we are faced with occurred during a 
televised debate between the two candidates in September. The candidates 
were asked whether or not they would support a "Colorado-style" amendment 
that legalized discrimination against Lbian and Gay Kansans. Both 
candidates appeared uncomfortable. Jim Slattery refused to address the 
question in his response, and Bill Graves responded with a trite statement 
that he does not "support special rights for alternative lifestyles." 
 
	Unfortunately, what we see here are two candidates ignorant of 
and uncomfortable with Lesbian and Gay issues.  However much the 
candidates might wish it were otherwise,  radical conservatives simply 
won't allow the issues to go away. Whomever we elect will play a vitally 
important role in determining whether Kansas falls victim to an 
ever-increasing tide of anti-Gay proposals from radical fringe groups. 
 
**********
 
Doug Glaze is the Chair of Equality Kansas, a state-wide gathering of 
citizens, businesses, religious and community groups organized to insure 
the protection of equal rights under the Constitution for all people 
regardless of their sexual orientation. Last year Equality Kansas 
successfully opposed the Cornfield Resolution, an anti-Gay measure 
proposed for the Kansas House.