B.G. group lobbies to promote extended anti-bias measures

Campaign manager Kim Welter runs what's being called the 'One Bowling Green' drive to promote anti-bias ordinances. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Photo Reprints

BOWLING GREEN - They've rented a downtown storefront, hired a campaign manager, and had volunteers going door to door.

The Bowling Green Coalition for Justice said it is prepared to spend $40,000 to $50,000 to defend two city ordinances that extend anti-discrimination protection to groups that fall into 12 categories, including sexual orientation. Referendums seeking to overturn the legislation that city council approved last August will appear on the November ballot.

"I think most people in Bowling Green want Bowling Green to be a fair and welcoming place, a place where everyone can live, work, and play with the same freedoms as everybody else and not have to live in fear," said Kim Welter, a staff member for Equality Ohio who has been hired for four months by the coalition to manage what's being called the "One Bowling Green" campaign.

The coalition has opened an office in the aptly named but now closed Diversity Boutique at Main and Wooster streets. Volunteers began canvassing neighborhoods earlier this month.

Darlene Bevelhymer, treasurer of the coalition, said the group is committed to raising awareness about the ballot issue and, more important, about what the ordinances mean to city residents.

"I was one of the original small group of citizens who worked on getting both ordinances passed last year, so when the petitions were filed to put it on the ballot, of course those of us involved in passing it felt a real obligation to see it through to the end and fight its repeal," Ms. Bevelhymer, a retired science teacher, said.

On Aug. 17, city council voted 7-0 to expand the list of protected classes in the city's fair-housing ordinance to include sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, veterans status, physical characteristics, and genetic information.

By a 6-1 vote, council also agreed to protect those same groups from discrimination in employment, at business establishments and schools, and for city services. The legislation created a process by which complaints of discrimination could be investigated and mediated by a city representative, although offenders could be charged with a fourth-degree misdemeanor if the situation could not be resolved.

While dozens of residents spoke out in favor of the ordinances, others argued they would hurt businesses and prove costly to enforce. Three residents - Gary Thompson, Mary Vollmar, and Douglas Freeman - promptly sponsored petitions to put the ordinances before voters. They collected more than enough valid signatures to ask voters if they want the laws or not.

Based on ballot language provided by the Wood County Board of Elections, a yes vote would mean the ordinances would take effect 30 days after the election. A no vote would mean the ordinances would be struck down.

City Attorney Mike Marsh said last fall's referendum effort put the ordinances on hold.

"There are a number of people in town who are pretty oblivious to the fact these ordinances never went into effect," Ms. Bevelhymer said. "They're assuming they were enforced, and they were not."

A political action committee calling itself "BG Equal Rights Not Special Rights" registered last month with the Wood County Board of Elections with Mr. Thompson as treasurer. He, Mr. Freeman, and Ms. Vollmar did not return calls for comment.

Ms. Welter said 15 Ohio cities, including Toledo, have similar nondiscrimination ordinances in place and in most cases they receive few if any complaints.

She said the legislation exempts religious and fraternal organizations and affects only businesses with five or more employees.

On the housing side, the ordinance does not apply to people who rent out a room in their home or those who live in one side of a duplex and rent the other.

"A lot of the confusion about nondiscrimination ordinances," Ms. Welter said, "is that people think you have to hire gay people or people of color or people of another religion. No. You hire someone because they're the best person for the job, but you can't eliminate them only because they're pregnant or a person of color."

City council President John Zanfordino said he plans to support the ordinances in November as he did last year.

"As the ordinances were being discussed last year, it seemed very significant to me, but ultimately when they were passed ... it seemed more like a significant, symbolic advance for equality," he said.

"Now that it's been challenged it's almost like the city is going to have to decide in November if it's for or against discrimination," he said.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at:

jfeehan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6129.