Cimarron Alliance Group issues statement on Cornett campaign

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		Cimarron Alliance Group issues statement on Cornett campaignxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following is a press release from the Cimarron Alliance Group
(Posted 3-16-01)

    In the best of worlds, the gay and lesbian community would not be made the scapegoats of an election campaign. Earlier this week, the endorsement of Ward 1 City Council Candidate Mick Cornett by Cimarron Alliance Group, a gay rights organization, became a campaign issue. Our endorsement was printed off the Internet and mailed to all the likely voters in Ward 1, in an unmarked envelope with no return address. The purpose of mailing the endorsement apparently was to generate an anti-gay sentiment against Mick Cornett.
    Mr. Cornett issued a press release on March 15th denouncing the anti-gay mailing by saying, "someone has broken the law and should be held accountable." He went on to say " unfortunately this type of negative campaign tactic discourages good people from running for office." The anonymous letter stated a gay rights group had endorsed Mr. Cornett. Mr. Cornett said he did not seek their endorsement. "I did not return the group's questionnaire and I rejected their financial support" Mr. Cornett went on to say "Let me make this very clear, I support no special rights for people based on their sexual orientation and I oppose the re-creation of the Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission."
    Cimarron Alliance Group Board of Directors did not meet with Mick Cornett as part of their candidate interview process. Cimarron Alliance Group did not financially contribute to Mr. Cornett's campaign so he had no offer of contributions to reject. However, Mr. Cornett did solicit individual campaign contributions from the gay and lesbian community and asked that we help rally new voters in his ward.
    Mr. Cornett met in early March with a group of gay business leaders, gay professionals, President of Cimarron Alliance Group, and a board member from Cimarron Alliance Group with the hope of opening a dialog with the gay community. At this meeting, it was clear that Mr. Cornett needed a lot of education on our issues. He did state that if someone came to him, if elected to the council, and demanded that gays and lesbians be fired simply because they were gay or lesbian, he would throw them out of his office. The consensus at the meeting was that our community would have a hard time strongly supporting him at this time, because he refused to say he would absolutely support a human rights ordinance including protection for sexual orientation. He clearly stated he wasn't against one either. He also stated he had a policy against disclosing how he would vote on any issue prior to an election.
    He stated in this meeting, that he was one of the most open minded people around and that he previously worked with several gay people at his former employer Channel 5 and we were free to check out his claim. Based upon that meeting and consulting with others, Cimarron Alliance Group Board of Directors issued their endorsement of Mick Cornett for City Council.
    Some in the Cornett campaign are saying that Cimarron Alliance Group should have never posted the endorsement. Cimarron endorses candidates at all levels of government. Most actively seek out our support and endorsments and are elected and often times re-elected.   I do not believe posting our endorsement was the wrong that was committed here. The wrong committed here was Frosty Peak appealing to bigotry and using the gay community as a scapegoat and Mick Cornett not taking a stand against it.
    Cimarron Alliance Group believes that equality for all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation is not a special right. We will continue to work with all members of the City Council to have a comprehensive human rights ordinance fairly addressed. This is not just a human rights issue…it's about how we all live our lives.

Paul M. Bashline
President

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