Responses of Almetia Hairston-Hamilton to GLAA
2004 Questionnaire for D.C. Council Candidates
| Yes/No (+/- 2) |
Substance (+/- 4) |
Record (+/- 3) |
Championship (+/- 1) |
Total (+/- 10) |
| 1 ½ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 ½ |
Public Safety
1. Will you support an annual budget for the Office of Citizen Complaint Review big enough to prevent the development of a backlog of citizen allegations of police misconduct?
Government has a responsibility to promote the highest attainable standards of integrity, professionalism, and accountability; this is especially true for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The MPD must establish a relationship of trust in order to serve and protect the people of the District effectively. I will support an annual budget for the OCCR that will prevent the development of a backlog of citizen allegations and strengthens public confidence by ensuring that citizen complaints about police conduct are taken seriously, carefully investigated, and reviewed by an experienced staffer in a timely- and impartial manner. I would first though, require that the MPD reassess its budget priorities to try and redistribute current budget funds, before agreeing to the allotment of additional funds.
2. Will you support funding for mandatory gay male, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sensitivity and diversity training including gay and transgender community representatives as a continuing part of the training for all members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire/EMS Department?
I will support mandatory sensitivity and diversity training for all employees of the MPD and Fire/EMS Departments. The MPD currently provides in-service training to all its employees, it further has a gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender liaison unit that aides in its Diversity Training program. A simple review of effectiveness of the currently existing program and whether or not it is improving relationships that reflect the city's diversity and making the necessary changes to its curriculum if the existing program is failing to increase diversity and cultural understanding should rectify any existing problems with its training program. Our city has an increasingly diverse population and the police, fire/ems departments must make all its employees aware of the difference in values, beliefs, and rituals across racial, gender, sexual orientation, cultural and religious lines. MPD should also ensure that as cadets perform rotating assignments among the districts and divisions of the police department, they also do a rotation in the department's Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender liaison unit.
Public Health & AIDS
3. Will you lobby your colleagues and Council Chairman Linda Cropp to create a new Committee on Health, split out from the current Committee on Human Services, that will be chaired by someone committed to vigorous oversight of the Department of Health?
I support the creation of a new Committee on Health, split out from the current Committee of Human Services. I would go as far as stepping up and taking the lead to chair such a committee. The District of Columbia is majority minority and faces a lion share of health disparities within its racial and ethnic communities. Greater oversight of the Department of Health, its programs and units will ensure greater accountability to the communities in which the Department of Health serves. A Committee on Health could aid in keeping the Department of Health focused on the nation's health goals established in Healthy People 2010, by aggressively setting policy and providing oversight to the implementation, thus pushing for the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health status, e.g., HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes, Environment, Heart Disease, Infant Mortality etc…
4. The rate of HIV infections in DC is the highest in the United States, rivaling levels in sub-Saharan Africa. Problems of rampant corruption, illegal activities, and demoralized staff at the HIV/AIDS Administration (HAA) have been well documented. Yet there has not been an oversight hearing on HAA for more than a year. The previous oversight hearing was five years earlier. If elected or re-elected to the Council, will you ensure that the Council holds an annual performance oversight hearing on HAA?
Yes, I would support the holding of annual performance oversight hearings on the HAA and the Department of Health as a whole. Again, if elected, I will support the creation of a Committee of Health that will be responsible for oversight of the Department of Health, its units and programs. As HIV/AIDS is one of the many health disparities affecting minority communities - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities inclusive, in the District, I would put greater emphasis on closing the gap on health disparities through vigorous oversight of the HIV/AIDS Administration, Maternal and Child Health Administration, Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Control, Environmental Health Administration and the sort.
5. Will you ask the D.C. Inspector General for a full audit of the HIV/AIDS Administration and its contractors?
Yes, however I would not stop there. I would ask that independent assessments be done in all areas of health disparities to get a status on the efforts in place and provide recommendations for improvement. If a Committee of Health is created, these assessments will serve as the foundational tools to help this committee get off to a great start and begin to really close the gap on health disparities within the District, especially in Wards 7 and 8.
6. The current HIV epidemiological surveillance system discourages people-especially immigrants-from getting tested by requiring both their partial Social Security Number and their country of origin. This potentially threatens their ability to stay in this country. Will you support and vote for legislation that will eliminate the partial Social Security Number from the unique identifier system?
I would support legislation that eliminates the partial Social Security Number from the unique identifier system. I believe in confidential testing. HIV/AIDS thrives in an atmosphere of silence and secrecy. The stigma, real or feared, of HIV/AIDS often is a barrier to HIV-prevention programs. If people are uncomfortable discussing their risk of infection with health care providers due to concerns about discrimination, deportation or a lack of confidentiality, they may avoid HIV testing and treatment of symptoms. We must not create an environment where anyone is afraid to come forth and be tested; testing alongside education and consulting is the first step to treatment and fighting the spread of this epidemic in our communities.
7. Only one insurance company operating in D.C. offers domestic partner coverage to small businesses that wish to offer the benefit. Will you vote in favor of legislation requiring insurance carriers to make domestic partner coverage available for small businesses that want to offer this health care benefit to their employees?
I do not know that I would necessary sponsor such legislation that makes these benefits a requirement, however I would support legislation that provides tax incentives that encourages insurance companies operating in the District to offer domestic partner coverage to small businesses that wish to offer the benefit.
Human Rights
8. Despite significant improvements made in the operations of the Office of Human Rights (OHR) in the past several years, the OHR FY 2005 budget was not increased to hire additional investigators and other staff so that the case backlog will continue to drop. Will you support maintaining funding levels and aggressive oversight to ensure that the OHR case backlog continues to drop?
Yes, I will support maintaining funding levels for the Office of Human Rights (OHR). The work of the OHR is important work, work that seeks to eradicate discrimination, increase equal opportunity, and protect human rights in the city. OHR's work to promote and advocate for the practice of good human relations and mutual understanding among the various racial ethnic and religious groups in the District of Columbia must be adequately funded. I support aggressive oversight; I would require that the OHR present an action plan of how it intends to reduce the backlog. If the office is requesting additional staff (investigators), I would require that an assessment of its resources be first completed, a staffing plan and a strategic plan.
9. Will you block ceremonial resolutions and otherwise decline to honor individuals or organizations that promote any sort of bigotry, including but not limited to the Salvation Army, Assemblies of God and the Boy Scouts of America?
I do not endorse anyone or organization that supports and/or advocates bigotry.
Defending Our Families
10. Will you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?
I am a Constitutionalist; I support and believe in the Constitution of these United States of America. I believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
11. Will you support legislation in the District to expand the domestic partner program to include all of the relevant rights and responsibilities of marriage in D.C. law?
Yes, I will support an expansion of the Domestic Partner Program that supports the belief that we are all 'created equal' and are 'endowed' with 'certain unalienable rights', i.e., 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'
12. Will you support the legislative and/or regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the District recognizes marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships established in other jurisdictions?
Current District law acknowledges and/or recognizes the valid marriage licenses from other jurisdictions; I do not see why this should change. I will support no legislation that restricts the unalienable rights of the people of the District of Columbia.
Public Education and Youth
13. Will you oppose both federally and locally funded voucher programs that place students in religious schools and outside the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act?
Yes, I adamantly oppose vouchers for education. I do not support a program that does not help the vast majority of students in the District of Columbia - whom are educated in public schools, but helps just a select few. Further, vouchers also divert much-needed funds from our public schools.
14. Will you oppose the use of either federal or District taxpayer funds to promote so-called "abstinence-only-until-marriage" sex education that undermines safer-sex programs by discouraging the use of condoms and that tells gay and lesbian students that they must be celibate forever because they may not legally marry?
While as a Christian, I would prefer that young people practice "abstinence-only-until-marriage," because I believe that they are not ready for the emotions of sexual relations. I know that this is unrealistic and I know that you cannot legislate morality. Our children are having sex and we must provide comprehensive health education that thoroughly educates them and stresses abstinence, while incorporating age-appropriate, medically accurate information about contraception. Such a curriculum must also be developmentally appropriate, introducing information on relationships, decision-making, assertiveness, and skill building to resist social/peer pressure.
Modernizing the Criminal Code
15. Will you vote to repeal the use of undefined and unspecified common law crimes and to repeal the laws criminalizing verbal solicitations of legal sexual activity?
As a council member - whose responsibility collectively as a body, is to make laws, I will support the review of all undefined and unspecified common law, otherwise known as "blue code laws." I will support the repeal of any and all laws that are inappropriate and the amendment of laws that need further clarification. The laws criminalizing verbal solicitations of legal sexual activity will be reviewed alongside all other common laws.
Record
Your record is part of your rating. Please list any actions that you have taken that may help illustrate your record on behalf of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.
