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Now online at GayOKC.com Thurs, Jan 2,
2003
THE
HONORABLE JIM ROTH TAKES OFFICE It was the beginning of an historic term of
office in Oklahoma County as Mr. Jim Roth was sworn
in as the new Democratic County Commissioner, Dist. 1,
at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Theater today. The
oath was adminstered by Tenth District Court of
Appeals Judge Robert Henry, former Attny-General of
Oklahoma, former Dean of the OCU Law School and
professor to Mr. Roth. Mr. Roth was supported on
stage by his partner and immediate family to whom Mr.
Roth acknowledged a great deal of love and
encouragment during the year and-a-half of his
campaign. At the conclusion of the oath there was a
great roar of approval, enough to crack the plaster,
from friends, campaign volunteers, and gay/lesbian/hetro
citizens encouraged by this great new Democratic face
now officially installed as Oklahoma County
Commissioner, coming after a campaign fight marred by
many gay card deals from the bottom of the deck in
attempts to retain Beverly Hodges as the incumbent
Republican commissioner.
Mr.
Roth joins a new Republican Commissior, Stan Inman,
who was sworn in also today.
Mr.
Roth's mind seems to have an infinite capacity for
the minutia of government--he's able to quote figures
and details without hesitation, but with a grace and
style which involves the listener.
This
writer takes great pleasure in noting that the openly
homophobic and fundamenalist District Attorney, Wes
Lane, who was also sworn in for his term of office in
today's ceremony, must have been inwardly galled at
having now to work with a publicly elected gay man
who's partner held the bible for Mr. Roth's oath of
office. My delight extends to the incumbent County
Commisoner Jack Cornett who has made homophobic
remarks, as well as to the Mayor of OKC, Kirk
Humphreys, and OKC City Council members Brent
Rinehart and Lawrence Mctee, infamous for their
determined attempts to mix their religous scruples
with civic government to the detriment of government
in general and civil rights for gays/lesbians in
particular.
Yes,
indeed, politics makes for strange bedfellows.
James
Nimmo
copyright
@ 2003 by James Nimmo, all rights reserved.
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