Photo courtesy of Ian Foxx via steveneal.org
1:25pm 02/09/10 UPDATE | Steven Neal has issued a written response to local Democratic leaders who criticized comments that the 9th District Council candidate made to the Long Beach Business Journal about his opinions on a citywide Equal Benefits Ordinance and Proposition 8.
In the response, Neal stresses that he did not intend to cause concern among the LGBT community and pledged to continue his progressive work for all Long Beach residents. The letter is provided in full, below.
In recent days it has become clear that my comments in the Long Beach Business Journal have caused concern within the LGBT community. To be clear, that was not my intention.
As an active member of the Democratic Party and tireless advocate for progressive causes, I have spent my career serving all segments of our community – regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
I have reached out to Councilmembers Garcia and Schipske, as well as the Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club to have a meaningful dialogue on this important matter.
Should I have the honor of serving the residents of the 9th District on the Long Beach City Council, I look forward to working with the LGBT communty to meet the needs of all Long Beach residents.
Respectfully,
Steven Neal, Candidate
Long Beach City Council
12:05pm 02/08/10 | Four local Democratic clubs have issued an open letter to 9th District Council candidate Steven Neal asking him to clarify statements made to the Long Beach Business Journal about his opinions on a citywide Equal Benefits Ordinance and Proposition 8.
Neal, himself a Democrat, told the Business Journal that he believes marriage is instituted by God and he does not think “man has the ability or the right to change that.” The Democratic Club also points out that Neal referred to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community as “a lifestyle that people choose.” The Democratic Club is asking for clarification on Neal’s statements and calls them “anti-LGBT comments.”
“We as leaders in the Democratic Party representing the City of Long Beach are deeply disturbed by these comments,” reads the letter, signed by presidents of four local Democratic clubs.
“We hope that we can work together in the future on these issues and ask that you will stand with us to fight the inequality ad injustice that our LGBT brothers and sisters face every single day.”
Neal is running for the 9th District City Council seat against Brad Shore, Dan Pressburg and incumbent Val Lerch. He narrowly lost to Lerch for the same seat in a 2006 election. The Democratic Club did not issue an endorsement for any 9th District candidate because no candidate received 60% support from the club.
The four Democratic club presidents who signed the letter are as follows:
- Stephanie Loftin – Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club
- Taylor Honrath – Long Beach Democratic Club
- Bianca Villanueva – Long Beach Young Democrats Club
- Honorable Betty Karnette – Long Beach Democratic Women’s Study Club
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