S.L. will advance anti-bias proposal

The Salt Lake City Council agreed Thursday to advance a proposal that would make permanent Mayor Rocky Anderson's policy banning discrimination in city employment.

The ordinance, proposed by mayoral candidate and councilwoman Nancy Saxton, will go to a council vote March 6, the council agreed Thursday without any discussion.

But before that vote, there will likely be some disagreement.

Among those opposed to the proposal is councilman Carlton Christensen, who believes the ordinance is not necessary.

In addition to Anderson's order, the city has a nondiscrimination ordinance passed by the council in 1998. The difference is that Anderson's order and the ordinance pushed by Saxton list specific categories — race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, veteran status, sexual orientation and disability — while the 1998 ordinance bans any discrimination for a reason that is not "work-related" or "performance-related."

That ordinance was passed after the 1998 council repealed an ordinance passed by a lame-duck council in 1997 that listed protected classes.

But while the council argues the necessity of the ordinance — no one has so far raised the potentially hot-button issue of protection based on sexual orientation — others, including Anderson, criticize Saxton's timing.

Wednesday, Anderson told the Deseret Morning News he believed Saxton was pushing the idea to gain favor among the city's important gay and lesbian voting bloc. He said if Saxton were serious about preventing discrimination, she should have focused on the issue in citywide housing and employment during her more than seven years on the council.