Friday, July 11, 2008

Dallas County judge looking to add sexual orientation to county non-discrimination policy

By John Wright of Dallas Voice

Dallas County Judge Jim Foster

Despite concerns that Republican commissioners would vote down such a proposal, openly gay Dallas County Judge Jim Foster has requested that staff look into the possibility of adding sexual orientation to the county’s employment nondiscrimination policies.

Mattye Taylor, the county’s director of Human Resources, confirmed Wednesday, July 9, that Foster has asked her to provide him with more information about the subject. In response to Foster’s request, Taylor said she’s looked at the county’s existing nondiscrimination policies, as well as those of other public and private employers. Taylor said she plans to meet with Foster sometime in the next few weeks to discuss the matter.

Foster’s apparent decision to pursue nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, which would fulfill a campaign promise, comes in the wake of a June 27 Dallas Voice article highlighting the fact that the county is lagging well behind the city of Dallas on issues of LGBT equality. The development also coincides with news that at least five Democrats, including two who are openly gay, are considering challenging Foster in the party’ s 2010 primary.

Foster was unavailable for comment this week. His executive assistant, Steve Griggs, said it’s unclear if or when Foster plans to put the proposal on the Commissioners Court’s agenda for a discussion and possible vote.

“It’s something that Jim has been looking at for a while,” Griggs said. “He’s trying to take a leading position on this issue and set an example for the county. … We haven’t gotten to the stage of specific language.”

Foster has said he doesn’t think the Republican majority on the Commissioners Court would support adding sexual orientation to the county’s nondiscrimination policies. The three Republican county commissioners who make up the majority — Kenneth Mayfield, Maurine Dickey and Mike Cantrell — didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.

Allen Clemson, administrator for the Commissioners Court, said if Foster were to put the proposal on the agenda, it would be a first.

“I’m not saying it hasn’t been talked about informally over the years, but it’s never come to the agenda for actual discussion in a full briefing,” said Clemson, who’s served as administrator since 1985. “It certainly would be the first time it would be publicly briefed and discussed in a public manner.”

Taylor said Foster hasn’t asked her to prepare a formal briefing on the matter for the Commissioners Court.

The county’s current nondiscrimination policies cover race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability and political affiliation. Twenty states, as well as hundreds of local governments including the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in their workforces.

Because Texas is not one of those states, it’s unclear to what degree local policies are binding. However, LGBT advocates say the policies are still important because they send a strong message that anti-gay discrimination won’t be tolerated, in addition to dictating things like recruitment and training.

Taylor declined to say whether she favors adding sexual orientation to the county’s nondiscrimination policies.

“It’s really not my call,” Taylor said. “I would never express an opinion unless I had expressed that opinion to all five of my commissioners. It’s a company’s philosophy, and I don’t really know what the philosophy of my court is on this particular topic.”

Some elected county officials, including District Attorney Craig Watkins and openly gay District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons, already have added sexual orientation to nondiscrimination policies covering their departments. Lesbian Sheriff Lupe Valdez said she’s in the process of adding sexual orientation to the policies covering her employees.

Fitzsimmons declined to say whether he thinks it would be appropriate for Foster to put the proposal on the Commissioners Court’s agenda for a vote, even at the risk of having it defeated.

“It’s really his baby,” Fitzsimmons said. “He’s the openly gay member of the commissioner’s court, and it’s his judgment call as to how they proceed. It would be a little presumptuous of me to tell the county judge what I think his strategy should be.”

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The community newspaper for gay & lesbian Dallas.

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