Governor, Democrat Scudder Parker promises to provide Vermonters with bold leadership on a variety of issues, including issues of concern to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
      Parker, a minister raised in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, represented Caledonia County in the state Senate for eight years. Most recently, he worked as an energy consultant and for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.
       Parker met with Out in the Mountains to discuss his campaign against incumbent Republican Governor Jim Douglas. The interview:

OITM: Why should GLBT Vermonters support your candidacy?

Parker: I will be an effective Governor on a whole bunch of issues that all Vermonters care about: a secure energy future; building a stable, affordable health care system; building a strong economy; and a concern for the spectrum of human services that focuses on making investments in people. Fundamentally, I think it is the same reason everybody else should be supportive of my campaign.
      Specifi cally, I have a long history of commitment to social justice and am committed to equal rights for all Vermonters. That really is one of the fundamental pieces of building a healthy society, a strong community, and a great economy.

OITM: Gov. Douglas recently vetoed legislation banning discrimination in Vermont on the basis of gender identity or expression. What is your position on H.865?

Parker: I was astonished by the Governor’s veto of it and frankly appalled. I think it was the fi rst piece of civil rights legislation that has been vetoed by a (Vermont) governor. I was also perturbed by the way he appears to have drawn the Human Rights Commission (HRC) into a situation where it looked like what they were doing was providing cover for him. I’m concerned about what we’re seeing with his appointees to that commission. That kind of behavior suggests that the HRC is no longer an independent body that can give an ear in government to the voice of people who are seeking justice and antidiscrimination recourse.

OITM: Would you have signed H.865?

Parker: I absolutely would have signed the bill. If there were any questions about it, the Governor was capable of having his staff address them in the course of the legislative process. It was not a bill that moved swiftly, it was around for two years.

OITM: Chuck Kletecka, the only openly gay member of the Human Rights Commission, resigned to protest Gov. Douglas’ veto of H.865. As Governor, would you appoint openly gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender Vermonters to state boards and commissions?

Parker: One of the privileges that a Governor has is the opportunity to put people with a breadth of perspectives into a whole range of appointed positions. Last year the Legislature had to take legislative action to make sure Governor Douglas appointed a person of color.
       As Governor, I will bring a passion for making sure there is real representation from labor, people of color, and the gay and lesbian community.

OITM: Would you issue an Executive Order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression in state government?

Parker: Of course. We wouldn’t want any kind of discrimination, even as passively accepted practices, in state government. We’d get the bill (H.865) through as fast as possible, but as an interim, sure.

OITM: What is your position on Vermont’s civil union compromise?

Parker: The stated purpose of the civil union compromise was to provide full and equal rights to gay and lesbian couples. What we know now is that outside of Vermont those rights are jeopardized. The reality is we have a compromise that was regarded as a bold step when it was passed, but it did not provide full equality to gay and lesbian couples.

OITM: Gay marriage?

Parker: What we need to do now is address a point of confusion in the ongoing discussion about marriage. I think civil marriage is something the state offers as a way of recognizing and supporting committed relationships between two loving partners and that’s what civil marriage should be. It should give to gay and lesbian relationships as well as to heterosexual relationships the status of marriage. It should not try to tell the churches what marriage is, but on the other hand, the state should not let any church dictate what marriage is for the purposes of the state.

OITM: So you are supportive of the movement to pursue full marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont.

Parker: Yes, civil marriage. There are many religious defi nitions of what marriage is. Some of them say gay and lesbian couples can be married and others say no. The state should never be trying to tell a religious tradition that you have to do this.

OITM: In his race against former Lieutenant Gov. Doug Racine, Jim Douglas’ campaign gay-baited using the issue of gay marriage. Are you concerned that Douglas and GOP Chairman Jim Barnett will do the same to you?

Parker: I have no idea what they will do. What I am doing is speaking my mind and my conscience on this. This is not even an issue for me.
      It is a matter of protecting members of my family and respecting their right to have respected by the law their very clear, committed, stable relationships. How could I possibly, as a person of faith or as a member of my family, do anything else?

OITM: To date, Gov. Douglas has refused to issue a proclamation recognizing Vermont’s Pride Day celebration. Would you issue such a proclamation?

Parker: Yes. I think it is an appropriate and wonderful celebration of a part of the richness of Vermont and our nation’s culture.

OITM: What other message do you have for readers of Out in the Mountains?

Parker: There is an enormous amount of opportunity in this state right now. We have a society that has a commitment to a tradition of justice, innovation, economic diversity, and to building creative new institutions. I believe we have a governor who is not helping to create those institutions and is not responding to the very real crises we face from the national government and the policies it is putting in place.
      My message to Vermonters is if you want to put in place a governor who will stand up for justice, build a sustainable energy policy, make affordable housing available, build a strong and vibrant economy, and get universal health care system in place, then work hard to elect me.

Paul Olsen is the Vermont correspondent for Boston's in newsweekly.