Candidate name: Sherry Cordova

District: 5

Council

Please complete questionnaire below.

You must send a completed electronic copy to Political@StonewallDemocratsOfDallas.org or mail
a completed copy to P.O. Box 192305 Dallas, TX 75219 by Monday, March 2nd.

1. Your background and the LGBT community

Please share any experience that illustrates your understanding and interest of the
needs of LGBT Dallas residents.

Since high school, my life has been filled with LGBT friends, neighbors and coworkers. One of my inspirations for running in this city council election came
from a neighborhood community activist whom I worked with in the 1980s. He
taught me about the political process and inspired me with his dedication to
improving the quality of life for our community and all of Dallas.
He died a few years ago and I hope that he is with me in spirit on my
current political venture.
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas seek to inform members of the LGBT and Democratic
Party community of candidate's political background. Our organizations by-laws
require us only to consider candidates with Democratic Primary voter history or
affirms their party affiliation via an oath of allegiance to the Democratic Party. Do you
qualify or would you be prepared to sign an oath of allegiance form from the Dallas
County Democratic Party?

I have a democrat voting history in the primary elections.

2. Creating an inclusive community

Cities compete for residents, tax payers, conventions and new businesses/economic
development. As a member of the Dallas City Council, how would you insure that
Dallas can compete effectively with other cities in the area of LGBT inclusion?

I support the LGBT community in its efforts to expand LGBT inclusion in Dallas.
I am willing to meet with LGBTs leaders to cooperatively make the LGBT vision
a reality and help promote our efforts to attract LGBT residents and
investments in our city.
Would you recruit and consider qualified LGBT constituents for your commission and
board appointments?

Yes, I am interested in considering and recruiting any qualified individual for

commission and board appointments.

Will you support the Dallas City Council's resolution for marriage equality and also a
statewide ban on LGBT employment discrimination?

Yes. The momentum for this to happen in Dallas is ripe.

Mayor Rawlings has refused to join the nationwide effort of mayors of 300 cities and
32 states to become a member of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. This effort is
chaired by Mayors of Boston, New York City, Houston and Los Angeles. Would you
actively lobby and take action to encourage Mayor Rawlings to join this effort? (Please
see http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pages/mayors-for-the-freedom-to-marry)
I have and will continue to work with the Mayor to understand the importance of joining this
effort.

Yes.

2. The City of Dallas as a LGBT inclusive employer

The private sector has seen a large increase in policies and benefits for LGBT
employees, how should the City of Dallas remain competitive to attract and retain top
LGBT talent?

Same sex couples in Domestic Partnerships should be given the same benefits
as couples seen as married by state of Texas. The city should recognize
marriages performed in other states for benefit purposes as well. At this point,
the updates for FMLA by the Fed now includes same sex couples which was
recently enacted by President Obama, and with the pension update the City of
Dallas does now recognize these couples. Again, hopefully by the end of June,
this will all be moot and all marriages will be recognized.
Do you support comprehensive transgender inclusive health benefits and as a council
member work with the City Manager to implement such benefits?

Yes and yes.

3. Current Events
The Governor and several state legislators intend to push legislation through to
curtail the current scope of governance of home rule cities like Dallas. This could
remove local control over matters such as drilling within city limits, LGBT protections,
etc. Do you favor or oppose this, and what do you plan to do in response?

I oppose legislation to remove local control and would work against it.

What are your thoughts on the current campaign finance rules for Dallas elections
which set donation amount limits on people newly seeking office but essentially place
no donation amount limits on incumbents via unrestricted officeholder accounts which
may be used for campaign purposes?

This campaign finance rule makes no sense and it is unfair to those newly
seeking office. I support closing the loophole.

The proposed Trinity Parkway toll road continues to make headlines. Do you see the
Trinity Parkway as an essential roadway project to alleviate projected road congestion
around our downtown core, or are there other solutions that Dallas should be focused
on?

The toll road is not an affordable transportation option for a majority of

residents within District 5. It would be burdensome on families and
businesses. My district and all of Dallas could benefit from an overhaul of the
downtown Mixmaster.

In a larger vision for Dallas, we need less roads and more walk-abilty to make

our city a leading metropolis regarding the new urbanism gaining momentum
in our nation.
Given that tax revenue for the City of Dallas should rise this year without a tax rate
increase, what are the top priorities to which these additional funds should be
directed citywide and within your district?

These funds should be directed to our parks, streets, libraries, and animal
services.

I, Sherry Cordova, am seeking an endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas for the
2015 Dallas City Council elections.

Signed Sherry Cordova

Date_3/2/2015