Barb Lickness

6th Ward City Council Candidate

                                                                                               

STONEWALL DFL ENDORSEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

 

        1. If endorsed, would you list the Caucus' endorsement along with your other endorsements?

               

                Absolutely! With great pride!

               

        2. Are you willing to make a commitment NOT to run against a DFL-endorsed candidate? 

 

I am expecting to win endorsement in the upcoming DFL endorsing convention in the 6th ward or cause a no endorsement situation.  My current delegate count gives me confidence that one of these situations would be the case.  If I cannot win the DFL endorsement or cause a no endorsement situation, I would have to reassess the future of my campaign and in all likelihood, I would not continue to run.

 

3. Are you in favor of a women's right to control her own reproductive system, including the right to have an abortion?

 

                Absolutely. I have been an avid supporter of a women’s right to choose for many                  years and have myself had an abortion.  I am a member of NARAL.

 

4. Do you support extending health insurance, pension benefits, sick and bereavement pay to           unmarried partners of city employees as currently afforded married heterosexuals? 

 

                Yes. 

 

       5. Do you support City funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project and the Aliveness Project?

 

                Yes

 

       6. Are you opposed to measures like the Minnesota Defense of Marriage Act?

               

Yes.  I support the freedom to marry whomever you please and will actively lobby State Representatives and Senators to ensure a law of this nature will not pass in Minnesota.

 

       Questions Requiring Longer Answers

 

       7. What is your definition of family? 

 

My definition of family is where one or more adults are engaged in a nurturing relationship that may or may not include children, without regard to age, race, religion, economic status or gender.

 

       8. How do you define homophobia?

 

Homophobia is an attitude based on fear that manifests itself in isolating ones self from GLBT persons, perpetrating violent acts on GLBT persons, or a general paranoia and lack of willingness to understand GLBT people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.  How would you promote better relations between the Police Department and the GLBT        community?

 

Not all officers in the police force treat GLBT people unfairly. In fact some of the finest police officers I know are GLBT people.  However, those officers that engage in unfair treatment or intentional targeting of GLBT people should be held accountable for that behavior and be sanctioned for behavior that violates established policing standards.  There also needs to be education to encourage better understanding and acceptance.  If a constituent complains to me about unfair treatment by the police, I will follow that situation until I receive an answer and until a resolution to the problem is attained. 

 

10. What experience have you had with Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) issues and why              are they important to you? 

               

I supported the “it’s Time Minnesota” legislation in the early 1990’s.  I participated in the stop Dr. Laura protest at KARE 11 and Loring Park.   I support the freedom to marry. I support domestic partnership benefits.   I am the proud daughter of a gay father who did not feel safe about “coming out” until he was in his 60’s after my mother’s death. My father lived in the closet most of his life because he feared retribution from society.  No one should have to live another life because they have to fear living their life as the person they were meant to be. 

 

The 6th ward is comprised of a great number of GLBT people, many of whom have made and continue to make significant contributions to the fabric of our neighborhoods in a great variety of ways.  Many are people I have worked side by side with to accomplish a great number of successful projects.  I am proud of the fact that the neighborhoods in my ward are for the most part welcoming to GLBT people and that a large number of GLBT people have chosen to make the neighborhoods in the 6th ward their home.   I can only believe it is because they feel comfortable being who they are and that they feel accepted by the society around them. 

 

I will work hard to support and pass any legislation that will allow city employees to have an insurance and benefit plan that includes domestic partners and will work actively to lobby legislation at the state level to make this a possibility. 

 

Another issue I feel strongly about and will publicly encourage more GLBT couples would adopt children.  We have nearly 1,000 children on a waiting list in a book much like a Sears catalog that need loving homes to grow up in.  I realize this is not necessarily a city issue, however it is important to me.

 

11. If elected, what do you propose to do to address the lack of fair and affordable housing in the       Twin Cities?

 

This is an issue that I have been involved in for many years.  I first began my work with affordable housing in 1993 as a participant on the Whittier Alliance Affordable Housing Cooperative Stabilization Task Force.  I have participated on the Whittier Alliance Housing Committee.  As NRP staff to the city, I have worked with 13 south Minneapolis Neighborhoods to put together housing loan and grant programs that helped to renovate dilapidated housing and rental properties in many inner-city neighborhoods.  I helped neighborhoods structure emergency grant programs that have made the difference between a family being able to stay in their homes or lose them. 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, I worked with Phillips as NRP staff and in Whittier as a volunteer to coordinate Master Land Use Development Plans that have resulted in plans to add several hundred units of mixed use housing throughout the neighborhoods in over 7 different planning efforts.  These developments when completed could add nearly 4,000 units of affordable housing units just in Whittier, Phillips, and Stevens Square.  

 

I am also assigned NRP staff to nearly every neighborhood located along the Hiawatha LRT corridor.  We have a tremendous opportunity here to add a substantial number of high density mixed use housing developments with retail, commercial and plaza space at street level, that can make a significant impact on increasing the number of affordable (30% -50% of median income) housing units.  My connections in these neighborhoods will be beneficial as the city begins prioritizing development funding.  We have a window of opportunity here to make a tremendous impact on housing needs.  We need to make sure we elect people who will commit to ensuring this window isn’t missed due to inexperience or unwillingness to support these projects.

 

On February 24, 2001 I will host a workshop for all the neighborhoods in the city to educate them on how to get funding for affordable housing projects.   This will assist NRP neighborhoods as they use their NRP funds to leverage additional funding into the neighborhood for use with a large variety of housing projects.

 

If I am elected to the City Council I will continue to work with the many funding agencies to garner support for the development projects scheduled in the 6th ward neighborhoods and elsewhere.  Because of my vast experience and knowledge in this area, I can “hit the ground running” and will make it priority number one.