Candidate Responds to Democratic Clubs’ Concerns
By Denise Penn
On Feb. 8, an open letter was issued to 9th District candidate Steven Neal by four Long Beach Democratic clubs asking for clarification of the statements he made to the Long Beach Business Journal concerning Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage.
In an interview with the Business Journal, Neal had stated: “I believe marriage is an institution instituted by God. And that being said, I don’t think that man has the ability or the right to change that.”
But Neal told the Business Journal that he does support the newly approved Equal Benefits Ordinance which requires contractors who do business with the city to provide the same benefits for employees’ same-sex domestic partners as they do for opposite-sex spouses.
The letter states: “We as leaders in the Democratic Party representing the City of Long Beach are deeply disturbed by these comments,” and is signed by presidents of four Democratic clubs, including Long Beach Lambda Democrats.
Neal, a Democrat, works for the United Way and is an assistant pastor at Seam Faith Family Church in Chino. He is a past Director of the AFL-CIO Community Service Department at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, member of the NAACP, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His opponents include incumbent Val Lerch, Dan Pressburg and Brad Shore, an openly gay man.
He issued a written response the next day: “In recent days it has become clear that my comments in the Long Beach Business Journal have caused concern within the LGBT community. To be clear, that was not my intention. As an active member of the Democratic Party and tireless advocate for progressive causes, I have spent my career serving all segments of our community - regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.”