Gay rights group chairman calling on Patricia Lesko to drop out of Ann Arbor mayoral race

The chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Allies Caucus is publicly calling on Patricia Lesko to drop out of the Ann Arbor mayor's race.

"Pat Lesko has become an embarrassment to our community and reflects badly on all that we value and worked so hard to accomplish," Phil Volk said in an official statement. "I feel it is imperative for our LGBT political future that Pat Lesko steps out from the campaign for mayor and apologizes not only to the LGBT community but to the general public as well."

Phil Volk

The LGBT group last month endorsed incumbent Mayor John Hieftje in the Aug. 3 primary race. Lesko, who is openly gay, has drawn criticism for her combative style and inaccuracies in her campaign messages, qualities the group says it believes would make Lesko an ineffective mayor.

A second gay rights group called Lesbians Opposing Lesko, a.k.a. LOL, also launched a website saying Lesko would be a "complete disaster" as mayor. The author of Arborblahg.com is now running a "Lesko Lie of the Day" column in which she evaluates the truthfulness of claims Lesko has made.

All of those elements combined have led journalists and bloggers across the country to chime in on this year's Ann Arbor mayoral race in recent weeks.

In a statement e-mailed to AnnArbor.com, Lesko responded to Volk's claim that she is an embarrassment to the gay community.

"I'm left saddened by this bizarre smear tactic and personal attack, though not surprised," she said. "My opponent has chosen to campaign negatively, and Mr. Volk, whom the incumbent singled out at a recent debate as a supporter, appears to be lending a helping hand to his candidate."

Lesko said the public policy and fiscal management challenges facing Ann Arbor "have nothing whatsoever to do with gender or sexual orientation." She said she'll leave it up to Ann Arbor voters to decide in three weeks whether they're getting their money's worth for the taxes they pay.

Lesko is campaigning on the platform that Ann Arbor needs a new mayor who is committed to refocusing on the basics: responsible spending, services, infrastructure and neighborhoods.

Patricia Lesko

"It's no great shock, then, with the incumbent's voting record, that it's imperative to get the voters to focus on anything except the city's out-of-control spending on construction projects such as the over-budget luxury office space for city staff," Lesko said.

Lesko claimed Hieftje's oft-touted reorganization of the city's bureaucracy is a public policy decision that has resulted in "exploitative hiring and employment practices."

She also criticized the incumbent for "the Stadium bridge fiasco, poorly negotiated union contracts, no-bid contracts, sweetheart leases, public safety dangers, back-door taxation through increased fees, reductions in services, including in-street leaf collection, our city's net loss of jobs, and fiscal mismanagement."

Volk said it's important for the LGBT community to oppose Lesko to show to the general public that it values honesty.

"In (Hieftje's) opposition for mayor, Pat Lesko, we have a person who because she is a lesbian feels she deserves the support of the LGBT community," Volk said. "Throughout her campaign she has proven that she does not have the skill sets to be mayor. Throughout her campaign she has misspoken about the facts, made up stories and outright lied."

Volk called Hieftje a strong ally for the LGBT community.

"The Michigan Democratic LGBT Caucus and I work hard to encourage and develop LGBT candidates throughout the state with major success," Volk said. "However, in some cases, we find the most effective pro-gay candidates come through our allies and not LGBT."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.