Lavender Greens Endorsement Questionaire

Answered by Dean Zimmermann Minneapolis City Council Candidate Ward 6

 1.The Green Party of the US and the Mpls 5th Dist  Green Party platforms state "We support the rights of  gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in  housing, jobs, civil marriage and benefits, child  custody and in all areas of life, the right to be  treated equally with all other people."  Do you  support and affirm this statement of our platforms?

         Yes, absolutely.

 2.Do you support domestic partnership benefits for all  unmarried public employees who demonstrate an  interdependent relationship with a domestic partner?

         Yes, positively and unequivocalbly (sp?).

 3.Do you support requiring contractors with our public  entities of a certain size to provide domestic  partnership benefits to their employees?         Yes, contractors of all sizes should provide these benefits.

  4.Do you support requiring contractors with our public  entities to protect all their employees from  discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and  gender identity by including such language in their  nondiscrimination policies?

        Yes.

 5.Do you support cessation of any preferential  treatment or contractual agreements extended by our  public entities to the Boy Scouts of America until  they repeal their ban on the participation of glbt  people?

        Yes, most certainly.

 6.Do you support the expansion of health benefits for  public employees to include gender identity/expression  related health care expenses and therapy, including  for those transitioning genders?          Yes.

 7.Do you support extending the preferences for  veterans that our public entities control (hiring  preferences, etc.) to those who demonstrate that they  would qualify if they had not been dismissed due to  their professed sexual orientation?         Yes!

 8.Will you work to end the police practice of  entrapment of gay & bisexual men? (this question city  council and park board candidates)

        Absolutely!

 9.Do you support resources for sexual minority  students, staff and parents in our public schools such  as Out 4 Good in Minneapolis Public Schools? (school  board candidates)         Yes.

 10.Do you oppose military recruitment and training in  public schools? (school board candidates)         Yes.

Three Essay Questions

 1.Glbt people come in all colors, races, and ethnicities.  In light of this, how will you help  our community to see color and celebrate it?  What do  you see as priorities concerning communities of color?

I have spent my entire life as an advocate for the oppressed.  People of color have been historically denied full protection of the law and have historically been subjected to governmental policies that have created chaos within families. The effects of these policies have reverberated down thru the years and have crippled the lives of many people of color. I support  many of the programs or policies that can help rectify this.

I support the Conyers H.R. 40 bill in Congress that will begin the needed dialogue about repayment of the debt our nation owes to the African American community. I support affirmative action.

I support the serious and long overdue enforcement of Native American treaties. I reject the concept of America as a "melting pot." Instead,I embrace the concept of America as a "Mulligan Stew," where each part retains its own identity while being part of a larger whole.

 2.Glbt people come in all genders.  In light of this, what will you do to help our community recognize  gender diversity?  How will you work to end sexism and assure a community that honors, respects, and enables the dreams of women, men, and transgendered people?

A few years ago I wrote and promoted an amendment to the US Consititution that would reserve one seat for women from each state in the US Senate. Today the few women in the Senate have to "fight like men" to be effective in that male dominated body. But if fully one half of the body were women, the whole dynamic of the discussion would be different.  I can only imagine the strength that would be brought to this august body if half its members were women. I use this as an example of why tokenism does not even begin to liberate the creative power that women can bring to all aspects of our society. Thus, the promotion of women, glbt individuals, people from every group that has ever been marginalized and shut out of the power structure of our government, will be utmost in all of my decision-making around public policy.

 3.Glbt people are of all class backgrounds and incomes. How will you work to support all people's access to dreams, housing, education, etc. in the office you are seeking?

Rich people don't need help with access to dreams, housing and education. All policies that I support and promote will be toward helping those who are now shut out by our unequal socio/economic system. I am, and always will be, an advocate for poor and working families. Today we have government policies that encourage the accumulation of wealth into the hands of the already rich. Every decicion I make is and will be based on how it will or will not promote the interests of those who are being shut out of the promise of America.