WE'RE ON, NOT UNDER, OBAMA'S BUS

TO THE EDITOR: As one of the scores of "gleeful," "sweating" Barack Obama supporters who marched in the Gay Pride Parade I must take exception to Eli Sanders's suggestion that I am blindly willing to be "thrown under the bus" by a candidate in search of the political center ["How Do You Like Him Now?" July 3].

First off, anyone who thinks that they're going to agree 100 percent with the views of any candidate is in for some disappointment. My public support for Senator Obama does not imply that I am under any illusions as to what is possible within our political system and the ability of Obama, as president, to deliver on the change he has promised. Politics is the art of the possible and unless one is governing as a totalitarian dictator you are never going to get your way 100 percent of the time. As with any choice one makes as an adult, you go with the best option you have available and hope for the best.

On the issue of marriage equality, Obama's position has always been that "same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law." He is on record as opposing "all divisive and discriminatory constitutional amendments, state or federal." So either the Human Rights Campaign, which endorsed Obama, missed something or it is willing to be "thrown under the bus" as well, along with the rest of us.

Cary Toland

44

STRANGERS: As a Seattle native and longtime reader of The Stranger, I find that I usually agree with The Stranger, but Eli Sanders's recent article, "How Do You Like Him Now?" both misrepresents Obama's positions on gay rights and the intelligence and motivation of the hundreds of us who marched for Obama in Sunday's Pride celebration.

While the senator has not said he supports gay marriage (and neither has any other viable candidate), he has consistently championed gay rights in places and times where it was not convenient, such as at Ebenezer church in Atlanta on MLK Day last year.

But most of us in the community, Eli, are not single-issue voters: We marched for Obama because we firmly believe that he is the best candidate for this office we've seen in a very, very long time. And at this critical moment in our history, with both our democracy and planet in peril, he's the best hope we have for coming together to solve the problems we face as nation and as a planet. That is why I marched with pride for Obama, and why I will continue to work, every day between now and November 4, to make sure he becomes the 44th president of the United States.

David Ginsberg

ERICA'S FACTS

TO THE EDITOR: Erica Barnett's article is appreciated, but she doesn't have all of her facts straight [In the Hall, June 26]. Like our neighbors in Belltown, LIHI deeply regrets that despite our best efforts, our community still has no community center. However, if Erica had dug a little deeper she would have found some simple facts that would tell a different story. The Belltown Community Center project WAS moving forward. After a thorough planning process, Belltown community residents and businesses serving on the Project Advisory Team (PAT) approved the design of the center in November 2006. At significant expense to LIHI we applied for a master use permit in 2006. Not surprisingly, the bid from the contractor showed a gap. Many projects in the region at that time experienced unforeseen increases in construction costs.

Ken Bounds, then head of the parks department, refused to consider any increase in the budget (even though just about all of the other levy projects managed by parks went over budget). It was simply impossible to deliver a new community center on street level with 6,000 square feet plus underground parking in the heart of Belltown for $1.7 million. Ken told LIHI that we had to fill the gap, though it was never clear how and why a nonprofit organization housing low-income families should subsidize the city's parks department. Nevertheless, LIHI worked diligently to seek additional funds. Even Congressman Jim McDermott graciously agreed to sponsor a request in the federal budget.

A mere three months after the Belltown community and PAT approved the center, and LIHI submitted a revised budget, Ken Bounds decided to kill the project right before he retired in February 2007. The explanation I got was that he did not want to leave unfinished business for his successor. Perhaps Tim Gallagher, the new parks superintendent, can right this wrong and give Belltown its community center.

Sharon Lee, Executive Director, Low Income Housing Institute

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: A photo of Sister Jessiqua of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the July 3 issue should have been credited to Stranger Flickr member Shadowplay.