Speaking out for the first time on a letter to the editor that has triggered five weeks of controversy over electing gay candidates to office, new School Board member Karlo Silbiger said resident Dee Seehusen’s letter was historically erroneous.
He also praised the City Council for punishing Ms. Seehusen this week for her remarks in a two-paragraph letter to the Culver City News. The Council voted unanimously to remove her from the Landlord/Tenant Mediation Board, where she just was starting a three-year term.
Mr. Silbiger commended Culver City residents and leaders for reacting with outrage to Ms. Seehusen’s central assertion, that he and Kathy Paspalis would not have been elected to the School Board last month if voters had known beforehand that they were gay.
“Ms. Seehusen had every right to express her opinions,” Mr. Silbiger said. “She has every right to state her homophobic views on the record. I never would question that. But words and actions have consequences.
“Culver City is a forward-thinking community. For that reason, I believe her accusation is factually incorrect. Here is why I believe she is wrong when she says the outcome would have been different. When Prop. 8 (the anti-same sex marriage measure) was on the state ballot, Culver City overwelmingly voted against it.”
Mr. Silbiger identified three reasons the City Council was right to fire Ms. Seehusen from the mediation board last Monday.
• City staff members who are gay would feel uncomfortable “working with someone who holds homophobic views.”
• Landlords and tenants who were gay and sought mediation would feel uncomfortable being judged by a woman whose partisan views are known across the community.
• The city is guided by an anti-discrimination code that says City Hall may not discriminate based on sexual preference. This would seem to eliminate Ms. Seehusen in light of her declared views.
Mr. Silbiger further rejected Ms. Seehusen’s claim that he was less than candid about being gay before the voting started.
While he did not open any of the numerous forums with a declaration about his sexual preference, neither did he hide it.
His first known public statement on the subject came at a victory party on Election Night, at the end of a speech devoted to other issues.
