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Mayoral Candidate Responses

Submitted by beacon on October 15, 2007 - 10:47pm.

Here are responses to the 2007 questionaire from the Bloomington mayoral candidates.

Mayor, City of Bloomington

Mark Kruzan (D)

David Sabbagh (R)

1. If elected, would you support or oppose continued protections for LGBT citizens, as provided in the current Human Rights Ordinance?

Support.

Support.

2. If elected, would you consider revising the HRO to make it mandatory rather than voluntary to comply with LGBT nondiscrimination protections, following the example of the Indianapolis HRO?

Yes.

Unsure.

I don't know what the Indy HRO says, so it is hard to answer this question.

3. If elected, would you support or oppose the current policy of extending benefits to the domestic partners of Bloomington city employees?

Support.

Support.

4. Because same-sex couples have limited access to legal recognition of their relationship and their families, a domestic partner registry can be used to assist employers who wish to make domestic partner benefits available to their employees. Would you support or oppose creation of a Domestic Partner Registry for Bloomington?

Support.

Support.

5. An Equal Benefits Ordinance would require certain city contractors who provide health care benefits to spouses to offer the same benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. Such an ordinance would be applicable to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Currently, Bloomington does not have such an ordinance. Would you support or oppose passage of an Equal Benefits Ordinance for Bloomington?

Support.

Support.

Since the City has the benefits, I would support this for City contractors.

Statement about LGBT Rights (optional)

If you wish, please write a maximum of 75 words on how you will promote a safe, supportive community in Bloomington and throughout Monroe County for all people, including LGBT people and their families.

Kruzan: It's important for city government leaders to, in addition to acting on the issues above, speak out on state and federal matters such as the blatantly discriminatory constitutional amendments that would deny unmarried couples rights and legal protections association with marriage.

Sabbagh: I have been supportive of the GLBT community both in my private and public life. I wasn't on the Council when the original HRO was passed. If I were there, I would have supported its passage. I was the sponsor of the amendment to extend coverage to transgender individuals. As Mayor, I will continue to support the rights of the GLBT community as well as all citizens of Bloomington.

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