My Election Day Edition Carolinian Column: Pricey, Brad, Sandra, Elisabeth & more
This week’s column in The Carolinian is my Election Day version. Later tonight or Tuesday morning, I’ll post my choices for my ballot (in Forsyth County) and the folks I’d vote for if I were registered in Guilford.
Enjoy…
Doing it, and doing it right
Vote today and make a change
Matt Hill Comer, Don’t Ask (I’m Telling)
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: Opinions
The day is here. Election Day will soon be over, the results will be in and the direction of our local, state and national governments could be changed for years to come.
Your right to vote is a privilege many people do not have in the world. Your right to vote is also an obligation. As a part of our contract with our government, Americans are empowered to do a number of things, including paying taxes, following the law and, of course, voting. Our government provides certain benefits and protections and the citizens provide oversight and accountability.
Today is your chance to make a difference. One vote may not seem like much, but just think: What if every student at UNCG voted in today’s election? One vote added to another 16,000 times over. There is power and strength in numbers.
Pricey Harrison, the North Carolina House Representative for District 57, is candidate more than deserving of my vote, but since I’m registered to vote in Winston-Salem (I’m a commuter student, of course), I will not be able to cast my vote for her or for other well-deserving candidates in Greensboro.
Representative Harrison’s record in Raleigh is solid. She was successful in increasing the funds allotted to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. She was also a sponsor of a bill which would include age, gender, disability and sexual orientation into our state’s Ethnic Intimidation Act, North Carolina’s version of hate crimes legislation.
In the community, Representative Harrison has been publicly supportive and outspoken on issues affecting all North Carolinians, including the LGBT community. Her advocacy and care for LGBT people and the issues which are important to them has been a breath of fresh air in a state government where LGBT people are usually ignored and only sometimes tolerated. Representative Harrison is in a small class of state legislators who truly understand that when we talk of equality for all we must be willing to give it to all, regardless of sexual orientation.
A vote for Congressman Brad Miller (13th District) is another vote I wish I could cast. Congressman Miller was the only representative from North Carolina’s Congressional delegation who co-sponsored a bill which would repeal the harmful and discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and another which would recognize the long-time, committed relationships of cross-national same-sex couples for immigration purposes, similar to what cross-national opposite-sex couples achieve with a marriage visa. Congressman Brad Miller received a score of 100 in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2006 Congressional Scorecard.
In my opinion, one of the most important races over in Winston-Salem (listen up you Winston-Salem commuter students!) is the race for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education. I spent 13 years (including Kindergarten, of course) in this school system. The last five were a living hell. The current Board of Education has consistently shown their unwillingness to step up and do the right thing in protecting the safety and well-being of LGBT students. Time after time, members of the Board of Education have used their religious beliefs to justify their decisions in keeping questions on anti-gay bullying out of school climate surveys and in ignoring requests to add sexual orientation and gender-identity to the system non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies. As a teenager in high school, long-time Republican incumbents such as Buddy Collins, Jeannie Metcalf and Donny Lambeth told me that my protection from harassment and harm wasn’t important, necessary or justified. Jeannie Metcalf even went as far as to compare people like me to rapists and murderers, saying sinners shouldn’t be protected.
I’m lucky to know that the Board of Education might just get a face-lift. Sandra Mikush, the mother of a friend from my high school’s choral program, is running as an un-affiliated candidate. She believes school board races should be non-partisan and that party politics should not play into what is best for our children. Mikush understands why schools should be safe and equitable for all. I’m glad I’ll be casting my vote for her.
Another candidate in the Board of Election race is Elisabeth Motsinger, who also understands the importance of protecting all children, no matter her personal beliefs on sin or religion. Motsinger’s campaign has made it clear: All students, regardless of sexual orientation, deserve a safe school climate for learning and growing.
I wish I could go on, but my editor would disapprove of the length. This election is an important one for numerous reasons. I hope that you will take the time to just go and vote. When (not “if”) you do vote, though, know the candidates to whom you are giving your vote. Knowledge is power and it can be even more powerful with a vote to accompany it.
See the original article at the CarolinianOnline.com
Technorati Tags: Carolinian, UNCG, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Board of Education, Sandra Mikush, Elisabeth Motsinger, Buddy Collins, Jeannie Metcalf, Donny Lambeth, NC House, Pricey Harrison, Congress, Brad Miller
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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