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Monday, January 9, 2006

Finkbeiner’s Challenger Responds

Posted by on January 9 at 17:30 PM

Eric Oemig, the Democrat who will be running against Republican State Senator Bill Finkbeiner this November in the 45th District (Redmond, Kirkland, etc.), had this to say about Finkbeiner’s new position on the gay civil rights bill:

Why do we have to wait for an election year for Bill Finkbeiner to find his conscience?
It is hard to stomach my own State Senator saying, "I don't agree with the politicization of people's personal lives..." after voting against civil rights legislation when he was leading the Senate Republicans. Now that he is up for re-election, he stepped down from his leadership post and says he will vote for it.

It is also hard to believe that anyone with real world experience is just now coming to terms with the discrimination of gays and lesbians. I do not presume to understand Finkbeiner's motives, but he is either seriously out of touch or incredibly politically opportunistic.

Our district deserves better. Our district deserves someone with real world experience in the business community. People deserve someone who can explain their position on something and then vote that way. If in some way, I have added some political pressure on Senator Finkbeiner to vote his conscience, then this campaign has already been worth it.