BY GARY STRADLING
Republican Candidate for
Los Alamos County Council

In my campaign, I am focused on providing federal land transfers to the County. I want sufficient housing for all of the people who work here, and for those who would be working here, if there were housing for them. We need people to start businesses and services, and to staff them. I am intentionally focused on this.

Teddy Warner, you have intentionally pulled narrow phrases (not even complete sentences) out of the context of my sympathetic conversation with Julie Walker, to distort my meaning. No fair minded person can misunderstand my full statement as anything but empathetic, and certainly not homophobic or hateful. 

The book I mentioned: “Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity”, a non-fiction book by Andrew Solomon (https://andrewsolomon.com/andrew-solomon-biography/)…, is about how families (and society) accommodate children with physical, mental and social disabilities and differences.” (Wikipedia) While the Wikipedia blurb says he writes about “accommodate(ing)…disabilities and differences”, it is largely about their dislocation in society and the resulting painful effects.

Andrew Solomon, Ph.D., is a writer and lecturer on politics, culture and psychology; winner of the National Book Award; and an activist in LGBTQ rights, mental health, and the arts. He is Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Medical Center, Lecturer in Psychiatry at Yale University, and a former President of PEN American Center. (From web site above)

Solomon is a male homosexual, and writes based on his own experiences and professional research.  It is he who draws the comparisons I mentioned between the list of “different” groups in society. 

My adult children gave me the book to help me better understand these issues. I appreciate the increased understanding which Solomon’s writings provide.

I am focused on housing for Los Alamos!