Response To Kleinschmidt Being " ... gay-rights activist"

False Statements and Mischaracterizations About My Position:

It has been brought to my attention that a number of media outlets and Mark Kleinshmidt are making various false statements and misconceptions about what I have said or what has appearred on flyers related to my campaign relative to Mark Kleinschmidt being a " ... gay-rights activist."

Per a request by one of my supporters, a few weeks before I stopped running my campaign a flyer was created that included a checklist of the factual difference between me and the other viable candidates. As such, my campaign looked for clear distinctions and identified 20+ notable differences between me, Mark Kleinschmidt and Matt Czajkowski. As one of those distinctions, it was noted that Jessee James DeConto of the News & Observer in an article on October 12, 2009 had labeled Mr. Kleinschmidt a " ... gay-rights activist." The News & Observer, Monday, October 12, 2009 "Incumbents face pro-business bloc" (see front page article). In that article, Mr. DeConto was clearly distinguishing between the candidates and used the " ... gay-rights activist" label to show one of Mr. Kleinschmidt's differences from the other mayoral (not to be confused with "moral" as some "progessive" citizens also tried to accuse me of stating) candidates. This is a distinction between Mr. Kleinschmidt, and myself and Mr. Czajkowski, and the distinction and label came from and was first used by Mr. DeConto of the News & Observer. This is only one of the 19 distinctions that were noted on the flyer from my campaign. It is up to the citizens of Chapel Hill to decide whether any of the differences identified on the flyer would make any difference to them personally in how they vote. However, I believe that the citizens have a right to know all the facts about the respective candidates before they vote.

And given Mr. Kleinschmidt's consistent public position of being "openly gay" (his words, not mine, see mark4mayor.com) I am surprised that he has allowed himself to be caught-up in trying to make this matter an issue with the public. Is he, his supporters, or the press, trying to draw some sympathy from voters for somehow being identified as gay or a " ... gay-rights activist." I view this as ironic and disengenuous at best.

This weekend I was notified by one of my supporters that another article was printed in the Herald-Sun on October 28, 2009 that had some comments by Mr. Kleinschmidt regarding the flyer and suppossedly something I had said to him in a private conversation. After reviewing the article "Kleinschmidt upset at 'gay' note in flier issued by Wolff" by Greg Childress (October 28, 2009), I am surprised and disappointed to see this matter is being turned on its head and false statements are being made about me and what I have said to Mr. Kleinschmidt in private conversations. I state for the record that I have never said to Mr. Kleinschmidt that I had a problem with him being openly gay or discomfort with his gay lifestyle. Perhaps Mr. Childress misunderstood Mr. Kleinschmidt or Mr. Kleinschmidt misunderstood something that I said. Or perhaps this is just spin or a stretch of truth for political gain.

A more objective and factual assessment of the matter can be found in the article "In or out? Wolff campaign material raises questions," by Joe Schwartz (October 27, 2009) that can be found on the Indy Blogg at http://www.indyweekblogs.com/triangulator/2009/10/27/in-or-out-wolff-campaign-material-raises-questions/ on the Internet. This article by the INDY includes a copy of the flyer for all the public to see that the label was clearly and correctly footnoted to be from, none other than Jesse James DeConto, a news reporter at the News & Observer. Although this INDY article speculates as to my campaign and candidacy, it at least states clearly and objectively some of the facts behind this matter.

In any case, I find these innuendos and accusations, and turning the matter of Mr. Kleinschmidt being a " ... gay-rights activist" into more than it is (simply a statement of fact for the voters consideration) to be in poor taste, politically motivated, and without basis in truth or fact. I am sorry to see Mr. Kleinschmidt is "upset" at such a clear statement of fact attributed to himself and one of his own. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.