Equality Works has launched the One Anchorage Campaign, a ballot initiative campaign to place an initiative on the April 2012 municipal ballot in Anchorage to add sexual orientation and transgender identity to Anchorage’s equal rights code. This follows on an equal rights ordinance which passed the Anchorage Assembly in 2009 by a vote of 7–4, only to be vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan.  Tim Pearson, of the One Anchorage Campaign, filed the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative Application with Barbara Gruenstein, Municipal Clerk

The One Anchorage Campaign will hold a community form on the ballot initiative Wednesday, September 14.

Here is the announcement, press release, and application for the propose petition, as supplied by the One Anchorage Campaign.

It is with great excitement that we announce the official launch of the One Anchorage Campaign to secure for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Alaskans the same legal protections provided to women and minorities in employment, housing and public accommodations.

We wanted you to be the first to know!

One Anchorage is submitting the Initiative Application and Proposed Petition required to have an Equal Rights Initiative placed on the Anchorage Municipal Ballot in the April 2012 election.

Attached is the Press Release announcing the filing, along with the language of the Initiative.

The One Anchorage Campaign is holding a Community Forum to speak directly with you, answer your questions and hear your suggestions.

Please join us!

One Anchorage Community Forum

• Date/time: Wednesday, September 14. Doors open 6:00 PM, program begins 6:30 PM
• Location: Waldron Hall, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 2222 East Tudor Rd (near the corner of Lake Otis and Tudor).

Learn how you can get involved. We need your help to win.

To RSVP or if you have any questions about the Community Forum please contact Johnathan Jones at 263-2006 or jjones@oneanchorage.com

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Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 1, 2011

Contact:
Trevor Storrs, One Anchorage, Spokesperson
907-317-1756

Tim Thompson, Thompson & Co. PR
tim@thompsonpr.com or 907-561-4488

One Anchorage Files Initiative Application for Legal Protections

The One Anchorage campaign filed an application this morning with the Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s Office to place an initiative on the April 2012 ballot asking voters to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Alaskans in the same legal protections already provided to women and minorities in employment, housing, and public businesses.

Arliss Sturgulewski, a former state senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate is the Initiative Sponsor and Co-Chair of the One Anchorage Campaign. Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles is the Alternate Sponsor and campaign Co-Chair. Other Sponsors include Alaska Constitutional Convention delegate Vic Fischer, former First Alaskans Institute President & CEO Janie Leask, the Rev. Michael Burke of Anchorage’s St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and leaders of Alaska’s LGBT community.

“In Alaska, we have a live and let live attitude,” said Sturgulewski “However, under current laws, a woman could be fired from her job solely because she is a lesbian. No one should live in fear that they can be fired for reasons having nothing to do with their job performance.”

Co-sponsor Rev. Burke added: “In Anchorage, we believe that all residents should be treated fairly and equally by our laws. This initiative ensures that gay and transgender Alaskans who work hard and play by the rules will have the exact same legal protections as other Anchorage residents.”

In 2009, the Anchorage Assembly passed a very similar ordinance by a 7-4 majority, but the Mayor vetoed it.

Alaska’s LGBT community has been working since then to address the absence of federal, Alaska, or local laws protecting them against discrimination. Leaders of the campaign include Alaskans Together, the statewide LGBT advocacy organization; and representatives of groups such as Identity, Inc., Anchorage’s LGBT organization/Community Center; the ACLU of Alaska; and PFLAG (Parent and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

The Municipal Clerk’s Office has 10 days to review and approve the Application and issue Petition Booklets. Campaign supporters will have 90 days to collect necessary signatures of registered voters needed to place the initiative on the ballot.

The full initiative language is attached to this release.

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Proposed Petition

Petition title: Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative

Proposed Petition: Shall the current Municipal Code sections providing legal protections
against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital
status, age, physical disability, and mental disability be amended to include protections on
the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity?

See full application for ballot initiative in PDF format. The application includes the proposed petition language and proposed changes to Title 5 of the Anchorage Municipal Code, adding sexual orientation and transgender identity to the list of personal characteristics for which it is prohibited to discriminate in employment, housing, financial practices, education, and practices of the Municipality of Anchorage.