This is no April Fool's joke: assembly candidate Andy Clary is the son of Anchorage Baptist Temple pastor Glenn Clary, who called Mayor Sullivan's veto of the equal rights ordinance one of Jerry Prevo's greatest victories. The junior Clary also has close ties to Sullivan and served on his transition team. He's running for the Midtown assembly seat against former assembly member Dick Traini.
"Clary's father... is an assistant pastor at Anchorage Baptist Temple and has been a Republican Party activist. Andy Clary belongs to the same political party but a different church, ChangePoint. When asked at a candidate luncheon how he has served the community, he cited church work. He taught Sunday school, led men's studies and cooked food for different events," according to yesterday's ADN article.
Did he switch from controversial ABT to the less politically tainted ChangePoint last summer, when Prevo threatened to take down the pro-ordinance assembly members? Is Prevo positioning Clary to be the city's future evangelical mayor?
The article also describes Clary's ties to the current mayor, giving us another reason to oppose him:
On an Assembly that's been fractious over Sullivan's leadership, Clary makes it clear he is allied with Sullivan, who became mayor last July. He served on Sullivan's transition team, held a fundraiser at McGinley's, the pub Sullivan co-owns, and says of Sullivan, "Generally, I like what I've seen."
We don't need another assembly member who rubber-stamps Sullivan's personal agenda against the best interests of the city.
Dick Traini is a conservative with an independent streak. He has also said that he could support a non-discrimination ordinance similar to the one passed in Salt Lake City with the approval of the Mormon Church. The two SLC ordinances added sexual orientation and gender identity, but involved only housing and job protections.
But Clary will oppose everything that benefits the LGBT community of Anchorage. And as Prevo's man on the assembly, he will actively work against us.
Midtown residents, please vote for Dick Traini on April 6th.
- photo of Rev. Clary asking ABT's television audience to give money to Rev. Prevo in celebration of his no-compromise victory over the homosexuals, after Mayor Sullivan's veto of the equal rights ordinance.
6 comments:
I don't consider Traini's version of "equal rights" to be acceptable because it leaves out gender identity. I think we actually could have gotten the ordinance last year if we'd been willing to sell out transfolk as Debbie Ossiander & pollster Ivan Moore wanted us to -- but I reckon my FTM ex-partner, & ever other transperson, is just as deserving of equal protection under the law as I am.
So screw Traini's Mormon Church-approved version of "nondiscrimination."
All the same, I consider Traini the lesser of two evils. Carey will be lockstep with ABT. If nothing else, if we can't keep the anti-LGBT religionists out altogether, at least keep 'em balanced against each other. The evangelical righty-tighties have a campaign against Traini based pretty much just on him being a Mormon (see comments at the ADN article about the race; see Dan Fagan's post about it): evangelicals/fundamentalists & Mormons do not have a peaceful coexistence.
And I entirely agree that we don't need another rubberstamper lickspittle following every Sullivan command. Traini is at least more independent than that. There's more issues in this town than just LGBT stuff, however important that is to us.
I'm a Midtown voter, & I voted for Traini Tuesday before last (absentee at the Loussac Library before that night's Assembly meeting).
I just revisited yesterday's ADN article & see that ADN has removed the most obnoxious anti-Mormon comments that I saw there by a user called AKSGTUSMC. I find much to object to in LDS stances & actions re: LGBTs, but I also find that frothing anti-Mormon rhetoric to be offensive too -- as offensive in its way as the redshirt kinda comments we were continually subjected to last year from Carey's evangelical pals.
Oops... typos, my apologies. Too bad comments can't be corrected. I kept spelling Clary's name for some reason as "Carey."
Mea culpa.
Andy said he hasn't been a member of abt in years, yet you believe there's a valid connection? why?
Is the occupation of this man's father relevant in any way? If so, why?
Andy doesn't go to abt and prevo is not andy's pastor.
So what connection are you talking about?
I'm writing a post about this race too, & discovered that in fact SLC's antidiscrimination ordinances (there are two) does cover gender identity as well as sexual orientation. See this story from the Salt Lake Tribune not long after passage of the ordinances; and this one from earlier today -- on the occasion of both ordinances actually coming into effect.
Both with the support of the LDS church. LDS does, however, still oppose marriage equality.
Thanks, Mel! I'll correct the post. And I linked to your post in my LGBT voting guide for Tuesday.
Anon - I looked up Andy's positions on LGBT equal rights and they align completely with Prevo & ABT. WIll be posting about that too.
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