As John Wright reported earlier here on Instant Tea, Dallas mayoral candidate Ron Natinsky was scheduled to participate in the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas’ screening and endorsement process on Saturday, even though, as a Republican, he’s not eligible for the group’s endorsement.
Now, however, according to an email to Stonewall — and copied to Dallas Voice — from Natinsky supporter Craig Holcomb, Natinsky has decided not to participate in the Stonewall screening. Holcomb, of course, is an openly gay former Dallas city councilmember.
Gentlemen,
Councilman Natinsky had been looking forward to participating in Stonewall Democrats’ screening tomorrow. However, since your bylaws clearly state that someone who has voted in a Republican primary is not eligible for endorsement, he will not be submitting a questionnaire or taking part in Saturday’s screening process.
Councilman Natinsky is opposed to disccrimination based on sexual orientation. That will not change when he is elected Mayor.
I am grateful for your prompt responses to my questions today.
Sincerely,
Craig Holcomb
UPDATE: Natinsky sent over this email addressed to “The Readers of Dallas Voice,” further explaining his decision:
I respect the GLBT community and had looked forward to participating in the Stonewall Democrats screening process.
However, when I learned that their bylaws would prevent me from receiving their endorsement because I have voted in a Republican primary, I decided it was more important to communicate directly with the community through The Dallas Voice.
Accordingly I am releasing my answers to their questionnaire to The Voice.
Stonewall Democrats, according to the email they sent, will be shredding all the other candidates’ questionnaires.
Sincerely,
Ron Natinsky
We’ve posted the completed Stonewall endorsement questionnaire supplied by Natinsky after the jump.
The Natinsky campaign also furnished The Dallas Voice with a copy of his answers to the Stonewall Democrats questionnaire. Stonewall had said in an email that all questionnaires would be shredded but the Natinsky campaign thought Ron’s answers should be seen by the public.
That is true and those questionnaire answers have been posted here on Instant Tea as well
This shows Mr. Natinsky to be a man of integrity.
If the endorsement regards gay and lesbian issues the questions concerning town hall meeting schedules, air quality, eminent domain, stray dogs and cats, keys to the City and gas drilling permits seem out of place and unfocused. If the endorsement regards issues of general interest to members of the Stonewall Democrat organization then the endorsement looses credibility and has little value to me.
When reporting endorsements I encourage the Voice to continue posting the questions the endorsement was based on. The questions determine the value I place on the endorsement.
DV is far too close to Stonewall Democrats for comfort. We are all big boys and girls and don’t need a few holier than thou folks to make decisions for us. Much respect to Mr. Natinsky for going out of his way to gain our support.
Anon, Dallas Voice is simply reporting Stonewall’s endorsements. If Log Cabin or DGLA make endorsements, those will be reported as well.
And I’ll say this about Mr. Natinsky — he spoke at Stonewall’s general meeting last week and was asked whom he voted for in the presidential election. He gave an honest answer. It wasn’t the answer anyone in that organization wanted to hear, but I think he gained everyone’s respect with his honesty. If he’s elected, the LGBT community can expect him to be upfront with us and not turn around and stab the community in the back, like the previous mayor as soon as he decided to seek higher office. Unlike Leppert, he attended every parade and didn’t vote against the community.
I live in Councilman Natinsky’s district. The ONE TIME that I ever had an issue with the city and could not navigate through the red tape, Councilman Natinsky’s staff was there to help. At election time, I vote my conscience. I look at the candidates, their positions on certain issues and their overall qualifications for the office. I do NOT pay any attention to endorsements, regardless of the sources. If more citizens would take the time to do the same, perhaps we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today–at the city, the state OR the nation.