Tag Archives: mudslinging

District 14 Dallas City Council race splatters mud; incumbent Angela Hunt defends record

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The race for the District 14 City Council seat pitting three-term incumbent Angela Hunt against openly gay political newcomer James Nowlin has gotten down and dirty.

One of Nowlin’s supporters recently ran a full-page ad attacking Hunt in Dallas Voice (shown above), blaming the incumbent for everything from potholes on Lemmon Avenue to a loss of city funding for HIV/AIDS services. The ad, paid for by Steven Graves, also claims Hunt has been either late or absent from 80 percent of City Council meetings and that she had requested a review of council salaries in hope of getting a raise.

Then in the comments section of a Viewpoints column endorsing Hunt, Nowlin supporters took aim at Hunt, her supporters, the writer (yours truly) and anyone else who happened to stumble into the fracas. The supporters claimed Hunt had not been a strong advocate for the community and challenged anyone reading their comments to prove otherwise.

In a telephone interview today, Hunt said that she did not want to engage in a mudslinging contest with Nowlin and his supporters, but she did maintain that she has been an outspoken advocate for the community and a dedicated public servant.

“I’m proud of my record,” said Hunt, who notes that she not only shows up at community events but participates fully. “I think it is important for straight allies to have a voice and speak out in support of the community. I’ve done that. I get up on stage and speak and let my voice be heard.”

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—  admin

Kern supporters start slinging mud at Novotny

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It appears that the mudslinging has started in the race for the District 84 seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where incumbent Republican Sally Kerns of Oklahoma City is facing Democratic challenger Brittany Novotny, a transgender woman also from Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee sent an e-mail to its members on Tuesday, Sept. 7, in which Novotny was described as “a confused ‘it’” who hates God.

The e-mail, signed by Charlie Meadows and headlined “Sally Kern’s opponent in Hollywood for a fundraiser,” said, in part:

“Brittany used to be a ‘he,’ had a sex change operation to make him into a ‘her’ but turned out to become a confused ‘it.’ Some have suggested that having a sex change operation is a person’s greatest act of rebellion and hatred toward God for His making them what they were.

“It is truly sad to see people reject God’s love for them by being willing to mutilate themselves. If they would submit their life to God, they could find the true the joy in life that will forever elude them while on their path of rebellion. ”

Kern is the legislator who in 2008 was tape recorded telling a Republican group that LGBT people are a bigger threat to America than terrorism. She recently defended those remarks, telling an Oklahoma City TV station that while there have been only three “real big” terrorist attacks on the U.S., society is constantly “bombarded with the message that homosexuality is normal and natural.”

In a statement released Thursday, Sept. 9, Novotny responded: “If Rep. Kern and her allies spent as much time focusing on Oklahoma’s future as they seem to spend worrying about my past, maybe we could keep teachers in the classroom and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.

“This type of personal attack is what Oklahomans are tired of, and it shows why Kern and her political allies continue to be out of touch with mainstream Oklahoma values,” Novotny added.

Novotny also said that OCPAC’s claim that she hates God is “ridiculous,” and noted that she attends services at United Church of Christ.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 10, 2010

—  Kevin Thomas