Tom Leppert: candidate comes out as gay-friendly

by John Wright of Dallas Voice

Tom Leppert said this week that if elected mayor, he would feel “comfortable” riding in the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade.

Laura Miller, the first Dallas mayor to ride in the parade, has done so in each of the five years she’s been in office.

“I’d be happy to do that,” Leppert told the Dallas Voice. “I don’t have any issue with it at all.”

Leppert also said he would not seek to repeal policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in Dallas government and extending benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees.

“I don’t see any need to,” Leppert said. “It seems like the policies are working.”

Backers of openly gay City Councilman Ed Oakley, who faces Leppert in a runoff for mayor June 16, have questioned Leppert’s support for the LGBT community. This is in part due to the fact that Leppert has made campaign contributions to less-than-gay-friendly politicians such as President Bush and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.

Leppert also did not participate in a survey and interview with the Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance prior to the May 12 election.

Pressed about the issue again Wednesday, May 23, Leppert said he wants to “bring people together.”

“How many times can I answer the question?” he said. “I would be supportive of every community.”

Meanwhile, Leppert, a retired construction industry executive, and Oakley, a six-year city councilman, have been squaring off in a seemingly endless series of public forums.

Oakley has received some key endorsements in recent days, and he slammed Leppert’s latest TV ad, which talks about his plan to improve the city’s public school system.

“Tom Leppert’s new ad campaign is based on polls showing that people are concerned about education — as they should be,” a press release from Oakley’s camp stated. “The problem is that everyone in the city knows the mayor has no power to control the Dallas [Independent School District]. The mayor can only provide a supportive role.”

The school district is governed by the nine elected members of its Board of Trustees.

During the forums, Leppert frequently asks how many in the crowd know someone who’s moved out of Dallas due to the state of the school system. On Tuesday, May 22, he told the Northeast Dallas Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored a forum at Mockingbird Station’s Angelika Film Center & Cafe, that the mayor can put a “spotlight” on education.

“If anyone tells you the mayor shouldn’t be involved in education … it’s just an excuse,” Leppert said.

Later, Leppert told the Voice the mayor can improve the school system by lobbying in Austin and Washington, D.C., by engaging the business community, by working together on facilities, and by utilizing the police department.

“I think there’s an awful lot that the mayor can do using the position,” he said.

However, Oakley has said those things already are being done.

In addition to education and other topics, the forums have focused heavily on what has become the No. 1 issue in the election — reducing crime. Leppert, a newcomer to the political arena, criticized Oakley and other city officials, noting Dallas has had the highest crime rate in the country for nine out of the last 10 years.

Leppert said 20 years ago, officials vowed to hire enough police officers so that there would be three for every 1,000 residents, but they never have come anywhere close to that.

“We’ve never had the discipline to put our money where our mouth is,” he said.

Oakley, who has focused on his plan to tear down 2,000 crime-ridden apartment units each year, agreed the city needs more officers. Oakley said the council has increased the police department’s budget by 30 percent since 2001 but has struggled to compete for employees with the federal government in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Incidentally, Oakley received an endorsement this week from the 4,000-member Dallas Police Association.

DPA cited Oakley’s knowledge and experience as a member of the Plan Commission and City Council as reasons behind the endorsement.

“The DPA has worked closely with Oakley, the City Council and members of the city staff to bolster recruiting and retention efforts by implementing a pay incentive plan as part of the [fiscal year] 2006 budget,” DPA said. “Oakley pledged to continue this plan as mayor and to work closely with the DPA to ensure a strong and effective police department.”

Oakley also picked up the endorsement of the Dallas AFL-CIO, which represents more than 23,000 union members in the city.

“Ed Oakley has earned the endorsement of the AFL-CIO by his proven track record, consensus-building leadership and his shared dedication to improving the lives of working families,” said Jim McCasland, Dallas AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer. “After carefully considering the records of both candidates for Dallas mayor, our membership strongly believes that Ed Oakley is the hands-down choice to move Dallas forward.”

Early voting for the election begins June 4 and ends June 12. For information about locations and times, call 214-819-6300 or visit www.dalcoelections.org.