Salt Lake candidates court gay vote

Proving just how different the capital city is from the rest of Utah, several Salt Lake City mayoral candidates spent Wednesday evening courting the city's gay, lesbian and pro-choice voters.

Five of the eight candidates vying to replace outgoing Mayor Rocky Anderson spoke to an audience of about 100 at the Hotel Monaco during a forum hosted by Equality Utah — an organization that fights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights — and Planned Parenthood of Utah.

The candidates — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — praised Salt Lake City for its diversity and vowed to honor it if elected.

The host organizations asked each candidate to address the crowd for eight minutes before mingling with voters and asked them two specific questions: Would you continue Anderson's tradition of flying the rainbow gay pride flag above the City-County Building during the city's yearly Utah Pride Festival? And would you push to make Salt Lake part of the Pro-Choice Cities campaign, which encourages municipal resolutions voicing support for reproductive rights?

House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, answered both questions with a yes and touted his recently announced initiative on human rights.

That initiative would call for the city to expand its benefits program for same-sex domestic partners, pass an ordinance combating hate crimes, create a citywide domestic partner registry and establish an anti-bullying campaign, among other ideas.

"No great American city will be true to that label without placing at the top of its agenda treating people equally," Becker said. "Utah is not the easiest place, as we know, to take on these issues. That doesn't mean, in my mind, that we cannot do great things in our city to further the cause we are here for tonight — that is, the cause of furthering human rights."

City Councilman Dave Buhler, a Republican, said he would support the flying of the gay pride flag but said the city should have a "careful policy" regulating such flag-flying to avoid a free-speech free-for-all that could have the city flying a flag adorned with the swastika or other offensive symbols.

Buhler said he would not support the city passing pro-choice resolutions, citing his desire to keep the city out of divisive national political issues and focus on the work of the city.

"This is an important issue," he said. "It deserves debate. It is not a City Council issue."

He pointed to his tenure as a Republican state senator during the 1990s as a sign that he represents a moderate voice, especially on social issues.