Dayton gay rights supporter loses mayor seat

Many believe Rhine McLin, Dayton's incumbent mayor, lost her seat as mayor because she supports the city's gay rights ordinance.

Rhine McLin, Dayton’s incumbent mayor, was defeated Tuesday, and many credit the loss to her support for the city’s gay rights ordinance. Gary Leitzell won the election in a close race, according to the Dayton Daily News.

McLin lost support from the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, which is a group of predominately African-American ministers. The group dropped McLin’s campaign and endorsed Leitzell, citing McLin’s gay-rights support for the switch.

Dayton's mayor Rhine McLin was defeated by Gary Leitzell with people now saying was in part because she supported the city's gay rights. Photo courtesy of cityofdayton.org
Dayton's incumbent mayor, Rhine McLin, was defeated by Gary Leitzell partly for supporting gay rights for Dayton. Photo courtesy of cityofdayton.org

“’We thought we had an agreement that she wouldn’t support a gay-rights ordinance,” Rev. Wilburt Shanklin, president of the Alliance, told the Dayton Daily News.

“She was chastised for taking a stand for human rights, in other words, by a group of ministers who spent much of their lives fighting for it,” the paper told Advocate.com.

Read the full article here.

Kim Brown

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