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Now online at GayOKC.com Sat, Jan 4, 2003
THE
HONORABLE JIM ROTH TAKES OFFICE (Posted Thurs, Jan 2) 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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