Mr. Anderson those of us in the 7th District could care less if you are gay or not, we care about your anniversary as much as you care about our anniversary with our spouse! What we do care about is the amount of our money being collected as taxes for the City of Chattanooga and where that money is going.
As of July 2012 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the unemployment rate in the City is now at 9.5%, we care about that. In less than 5 years 46% of our city budget will be going to pay city retirees and nothing else, that is not sustainable, we care about that. As our personal retirement plans lose money, the city has guaranteed the police and fire unions a 7% annual return on their retirement plan; this is absurd in an economy where savings and other investment vehicles are earning a .05% to 1.0% return if any at all, we care about that. The city is collecting a huge amount of sewer and runoff fees from citizens and city owned businesses while our 100-plus-year-old sewer systems crumble under us, we care about that. The citizens of Chattanooga have paid dearly for modern equipment at our sewer treatment plant and the manager in charge has no clue and no one qualified to operate this equipment so we also pay to outsource tests we should be doing in house, we care about that. The waste water treatment plant dumps millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Tennessee River and we pay millions in fines simply because of poor management at the treatment plant, we care about that. Our streets in the city limits are falling apart and we spend our street repair money on .... we care about that.
They only answer that this mayor or City Council has had is to annex more property which we cannot afford to provide services for and to raise our taxes. How high can the taxes go before those of us who live within the city limits flee to the county or surrounding counties with a lower tax rate, leaving the City of Chattanooga with little to no tax base at all? The city collects the sales tax but how far will they get on sales tax alone?
You see there are a whole plethora of issues that we care about but your sexual orientation is not one of them! Therefore, you might want to address the real issues facing the City of Chattanooga and forget about patting yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing at all.
Teresa Wood
District 7 resident
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Jim Nichols' letter should have been entitled "Bigotry Disclosure." Mr. Nichols, your letter says a whole lot more about you than any gay person who "trumpets" his lifestyle.
I would rather people consider me strange but kind, rather than normal and a bigot.
And I don't believe anyone wants your acceptance.
Georgia Bethwell
Chattanooga
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Unfortunately, people like Mr. Nichols can't set their bigotry and hatred aside long enough to participate in a discussion of real issues. Immediately writing off a candidate based on sexual orientation is beyond ridiculous. Chris' honesty about his sexual orientation only goes to show that he is dedicated to transparency in his personal life as well as in city government, something that can't necessarily be said about his opponent.
District 7 voters should be excited about the prospect of electing Chris Anderson as their City Councilman. I've know Chris for 15 years, and I know of no other person in Chattanooga as dedicated to making our city the best place to live, work, and raise a family as him.
District 7 needs a progressive leader who values good jobs -not just minimum wage jobs. We need a leader who is committed to paying our police and firefighters a living wage, and making sure our tax dollars are put to good use. Lastly we need a leader who is willing to put the needs of the community before their own personal political agenda. Chris Anderson is that leader and a great choice for District 7 City Council.
Lindsay Barrett
Chattanooga
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The fact that Mr. Anderson disclosed that he is gay and has a partner over 10 years makes him like most every candidate for public office. One need only look at both party's political conventions (with both candidates' wives speaking during prime time) to see that the family of a candidate is almost always discussed.
Kudos to Mr. Anderson for having the honesty to be candid about who he is. Although I do not live in District 7, I think that he would make a great city councilman and invite anyone interested to learn more about his ideas for the city of Chattanooga.
As for Mr. Nichols, many bigots seek acceptance and reassurance that they are normal when clearly they are not.
Finally, I've never understood the term "gay lifestyle." Is there a "straight lifestyle"? Is Mr. Anderson also living a "Caucasian lifestyle"?
Jay Perry
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Isn’t it remarkable what happens when any politically incorrect commentary is made? Those who preach for tolerance, sensitivity, and inclusion suddenly emerge from the closet with a rainbow of intolerance towards an opposing opinion, even if it is ridiculous. Labels such as bigot, ignorant, and hatred are quite liberally applied. I (and most others) don’t care if Chris Anderson is a homosexual restaurant manager, as that’s his business. But let’s not be hypocrites.
The hypocrisy is that Chris Anderson himself chose to make his personal sexual orientation a political issue as “the city’s first openly gay candidate”, and concurrent with a plea for fundraising. Note that his lifestyle likely wouldn’t have become an issue until he raised it.
Many of his ilk believe it’s acceptable to accuse Mitt Romney virtually of murder, allege ties to the Central American death squads of the 80’s, and perpetrate a “war on women” with the veiled implication that religion colors his view. Even the San Francisco based Chair of the California Democratic Party went as far to compare the Romney-Ryan campaign to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Something completely unreal to say. Of course it’s all under the guise of “just politics”. They get a pass after a pro forma apology, but not be held accountable.
Don’t be confused. Anderson is an activist liberal Democratic partisan, so I question if he can put politics aside and serve all the people in the non-partisan office he seeks.
Will Wallace
Chattanooga