Carlin vows to listen, work hard
by Chris Higgins

In a meeting with Manhattan area les-bi-gays, Sidney Carlin said gay rights were not her focus, but vowed to listen and work hard for her constituents if elected to the Kansas State House of Representatives.

“Gaining equality as a minority in any situation is a slow process,” she said at the Oct. 1 Flint Hills Alliance meeting. Carlin — Democratic candidate for the 66th District — said, “I’m not going charging in waving flags in front of everybody else on this issue or any other issue.”

Carlin cited situations surrounding Topeka Mayor Joan Wagnon as an example of “what can happen when such issues are thrust into the spotlight” even by accident.

When Wagnon spoke at the November FHA meeting, Carlin was in attendance to hear Wagnon discuss the sudden — somewhat accidental — focus of her administration on gay rights. Wagnon said without proper planning and good strategies, sometimes things done with the best of intentions can become the largest of fiascoes. (For more information, see the related story.)

Carlin said determination and “gentle pushing” are her tools for getting the job done.

“I know the people and I work hard for them,” she said. “I’ve led a lot of groups to successful endings, but I didn’t do it on my own. People have to remember to get out there and vote for the people that they feel will best represent them. If they don’t vote, they will lose their voice and lose out on what’s important to them.”

Though Carlin said she would not “go charging in on any issue,” she told the audience that improving education and eliminating the sales tax on food are high on her agenda. She said her opponent, incumbent Republican Jeff Peterson, has not given those issues the importance they deserve.

Carlin mentioned several times that money can strongly affects campaigns and inevitably elections. Carlin said though her opponent has an abundance of money and she has very little, the bottom line  is getting people registered to vote and out to vote on Election Day.

“What is most valuable is whom you know,” she said. “It’s who you can get to the polls and who you can influence to vote for you. That’s how you win campaigns.”

  Back to FHO October 98 Home Page