Why I'm Voting for Karol Collymore

Kristin Flickinger

Karol and I met a number of years ago. We were both writing for BlueOregon, and something Karol wrote caught my eye. “Gay is Not the New Black.” At a time when I was writing about GLBT issues, and drawing parallels to other battles for equal rights, this made me stop and say, “oh really?” It also made me ask, “Who the hell is Karol Collymore?”

I disagreed with the apparent premise of her post. So I emailed her. And a week later we were doing happy hour at Bridgeport.

Honestly, I don’t remember the specifics of our discussion of the BlueOregon piece, though I’m sure we talked about it. What I remember is how I felt when I walked away from that meeting a couple of hours later.

I expect my elected officials to be smart. I expect my county officers to have technical expertise. I expect that they will have the desire and ability to do the job, and the dedication to serve. Karol has all of that.

What I hope for every election cycle is to find a candidate who has the willingness to talk gently and passionately about challenging issues.

Yes, Karol is intelligent, well-spoken and technically-proficient. She is more than that.

When I walked away from a conversation about a challenging issue personal to both of us, I felt a great amount of respect for the woman across the table. And I felt respected, as well.

That’s why I’m voting for Karol.

By Kristin Flickinger May 10, 2010