Press Release:
OutFront Minnesota To Publish
Saint Paul City Council Voter Guide

August 8, 2003 - For immediate release.

(Minneapolis) - OutFront Minnesota, the state’s leading organization serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community and our allies, announced today that it will compile and publish a voter’s guide for use in the Saint Paul City Council primary election, which will take place on September 9, 2003.

“We’ve had an increasing number of inquiries from GLBT community members and allies in Saint Paul about City Council candidates’ positions on issues of concern to our community,” says OutFront Minnesota Public Policy Director Monica Meyer. “After considering a few different methods, we determined that the best way to get that information in a relatively short time was to survey candidates and prepare a voter’s guide available through the OutFront Minnesota website.”

The questionnaire that has been sent to candidates asks four questions that are specifically related to the GLBT community, including questions about support for or opposition to creating a domestic partner registry, barring discrimination by City contractors, requiring contractors to provide domestic partner benefits, and repealing Saint Paul’s antiquated ban on appearing in public in the dress of the other sex.

“Our materials to candidates emphasize that GLBT residents of Saint Paul are just as concerned about issues like taxes, public safety, and development as their neighbors are,” explains Legal Program Coordinator Phil Duran. “However, those issues are very likely to be covered thoroughly by mainstream media, whereas the Pioneer Press seems less likely to inquire about these topics.”

Materials have been sent to 32 announced candidates for the Saint Paul City Council. Responses will be posted on the OutFront Minnesota website beginning Monday, August 25, 2003, along with information about how to register to vote, identify your ward, and locate your voting station. As a non-profit organization, OutFront Minnesota will not be endorsing any candidate for office, but invites GLBT people in Saint Paul to use this information in making decisions about whom to support in the September 9 City Council primary.

Contact: Phil Duran, Legal Program Coordinator
(612) 822-0127, ext. 102

Monica Meyer, Public Policy Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 115

One of the easiest ways to keep informed about events in Minnesota is by joining the Citizen Q Network, our statewide, e-mail activist network.

OutFront Minnesota is a non-partisan organization serving the GLBT and allied communities of Minnesota. All services including voter guides, voter information, and voter registration are made available without regard to a voter's political preference or on the basis of support or opposition to a particular candidate.