Republican Dana Young found she was on the side of the minority Sept. 17 when she told about 100 people at a Tiger Bay candidates forum that, “Regardless of party affiliation, I think that we all agree that the best scenario for a child is to be in a loving family with a mother and father.”
Her stance elicited strong boos from those in the crowd who seemed to be excited by the recent ruling that the state’s three-decades-old law banning gay men and lesbians from adopting is unconstitutional.
Young and her Democratic opponent for the District 57 state house seat, Stacy Frank, both spoke at a forum that covered a wide range of topics including health care and immigration reform, as well as gay adoption. Frank told the crowd where she stood on the adoption ban.
“I adopt gay adoption,” she said to applause.
Most of the forum was predictable as the candidates’ views fell along party lines. Frank does not support Attorney General Bill McCollum’s lawsuit challenging federal health care legislation, while Young does.
When it comes to illegal immigration, Frank said she could not back any law that would support officials detaining people based on accent or skin color. She would, however, endorse legislation that would cancel state contracts with businesses found employing undocumented labor.
“The only reason we have that problem is because there is a demand for their services,” she said. “If we cut off the demand for their services, there won’t be a reason for them to be here as illegal aliens.”
Young agreed with Frank that employee verification would help lessen the state’s illegal immigration problem. But she said more might need to be done at the state level if the federal government doesn’t do more to tackle the problem.
One Tiger Bay Club member asked Young if she planned to vote for Republican Rick Scott for governor, and, if so, what qualified him to lead the state.
Her response: “I will answer that by saying I was a strong supporter of Bill McCollum.”
District 57 includes South Tampa, Town ‘N Country and Westchase.
