Focus On The Rainbow

In a mayoral election missed by many in the media, including admittingly this writer too, an election was held on Tuesday for mayor in Gainesville, Florida among five contenders including the winner Craig Lowe who is openly gay.

Lowe won with 40.13 percent of the vote with his nearest competitor Don Marsh coming in with 29.17 percent which will now come down to a runoff.

In the April 13 runoff, for the mayor’s office, it will be the case of polar opposites – Marsh a married, right-leaning window cleaner and Lowe an openly gay, left-leaning city commissioner – who now have another four weeks of campaigning before Round 2.

This election just as in the election for mayor last year in Houston wasn’t without anti-gay controversy what with anti-gay fliers being handed out in an attempt to beat Lowe in the voter’s booth.

The pink fliers sarcastically suggest Lowe, who is openly gay, will work to get: “Gays in Women’s Restrooms,” “Gay Marriage,” “Gay Public Sex Education,” “Gay Oriented Churches,” “Gay Communities,” “Gay Civil Rights” and “Gay Parades.”

“Please help to make this town more like San Francisco, CA,” the flier reads. “Don’t let Traditional Value Activists use scare tactics against you!”

Lowe, a city commissioner, said in an interview that he was told the fliers had been put on cars at a Baptist church Sunday and some had been placed on cars along Main Street. It was not clear who was distributing them.

“When someone poses as operating on your campaign’s behalf and is doing so in a manner to damage the campaign, I think that’s something that is very disturbing in the electoral process,” Lowe said.

Source – The Gainesville Sun – election and fliers