By Ray Gronberg
gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648
DURHAM -- August's City Council vote for a nonbinding resolution in favor of extending civil-marriage rights to same-sex couples is shaping up as an issue in at least a couple of this fall's ward elections.
One of the challengers in Ward 2, Sylvester Williams, has made it known he opposes the resolution. His stance on it helped him pick up an endorsement from a newspaper catering to the black community, the Triangle Tribune.
Opposition to same-sex civil marriage is the position "the country takes as far as the Defense of Marriage Act, it is what the state of North Carolina takes, as far as saying it's one man, one wife, and the position I take is the one that the Bible takes, that it's between one man and one woman," Williams said. "And I believe that the resolution passed by the City Council is no more than grandstanding."
Williams' stance is counter to that of all three council incumbents running this fall, including Ward 2's Howard Clement. The resolution -- introduced at the urging of local activist Joshua Lee Weaver -- passed the council unanimously.
The issue also divides other Ward 2 challengers.
One, Darius Little, said at a Sept. 22 forum he "would have voted in favor" because doing otherwise stands for restricting "the abilities of others to have their rights."
Fellow challenger Matt Drew said individual relationships "and what you do in those relationships [are] your business," but added that the council "has no business approving or disapproving either way."
In the Ward 1 race, incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden joined her fellow council members in voting for the resolution. But challengers Donald Hughes and John Tarantino echoed Drew in saying the council shouldn't have weighed in.
Hughes said "the law as it currently stands is the one we should abide by" until state leaders change it. Tarantino added that in his view, it wasn't "appropriate for the City Council to make a resolution or any kind of statement supporting or involving" the issue.
Ward 3 incumbent Mike Woodard like other council members voted for the resolution. His challenger, Allan Polak, and Ward 2 challenger Sandra Howell, missed the Sept. 22 Young Democrats of Durham County forum and have yet to weigh in.
The question on the issue came from Harlan Brown, an unaffiliated voter who also sought to pin down the candidates on their views about abortion. But Young Democrats moderator Zack Hawkins disallowed that question.
Williams' position has drawn flak as well as praise. The criticism came from Carl Kenney, a local commentator who like Williams is a minister.
Kenney in a blog posting said political groups that have declined to endorse Williams should tell him he's "too homophobic to represent the citizens of Durham."
He added that Williams is "too much of a conservative Christian in a city that is too progressive for his old-time religion."
In an interview, Kenney also said he think it's "important that we maintain that delicate balance between the separation of church and state," and noted that Durham "has a very important gay and lesbian community."
But Williams brushes off the criticism and says he's gotten positive feedback from voters.
"One of the things I've said is that there's [an] elitist group in the city of Durham that tries to control the thought process of people," he said. "But the communities I've gone to, white, black, what have you, have all agreed with me. This is a void in the city of Durham. You can be a responsible citizen, well thought out, and be opposed to what the church calls sinful behavior."
