Glenn Poshard, the Democratic candidate for governor, on Monday defended his conservative record and pleaded with fellow Democrats who have criticized it to stand by him despite disagreements over individual issues.
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African-Americans, liberals, abortion-rights supporters and, most recently, gay-rights activists all have expressed concerns about Poshard’s views since he won a four-way primary this spring.
His positions, critics said, may be suited to the conservative Downstate district he represents in Congress but are out of step with the more diverse statewide electorate to which he must now appeal.
Poshard asked traditionally Democratic groups to judge him on his overall record and in contrast to his Republican opponent, George Ryan, rather than on individual votes.
“It’s my hope in this campaign that people will see my whole record,” Poshard said during a stop in Chicago at which he proposed raising state spending on early-education programs by $130 million a year.
“Can I be with 100 percent of any group in this state? I can’t be,” he said. But “my record is clear. It’s a Democratic record. It’s solid.”
Gay-rights activists are the latest to voice worries about Poshard, and Democratic leaders privately have been urging him to soften his views on gay-rights issues and to reach out to the gay community.
Poshard voted in Congress against the recognition of same-sex marriages and the use of federal housing funds for AIDS victims. The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights group, gave Poshard its lowest score for the 104th Congress, ranking him alongside anti-gay politicians such as U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) and former Rep. Bob Dornan (R-Calif.).
Poshard on Monday acknowledged he voted against a measure that would have allowed gays to visit their partners in the hospital.
But he said he did it because he objected to other provisions in the bill, a point he did not clarify in the Congressional Record at the time or to gay-rights activists since.
Poshard said he supports a law prohibiting discrimination against gays in the workplace. But he still would not commit to extending similar protections to gays in the housing market or at public facilities, such as hospitals.
Asked whether he, as governor, would sign gay-rights legislation for Illinois, Poshard, without elaboration, said, “I couldn’t sign every part of it.”
Poshard explained his lagging support in the gay community even as he was unveiling a child-care initiative intended to shore up his support among another group of voters–women who may feel alienated by his strict opposition to abortion rights.
Poshard proposed raising state spending on early childhood education programs so full-time day-care centers would be places that nurture learning during a child’s formative years rather than what he called baby-sitting services for working parents.
He proposed changes that would make more low-income families eligible for state child-care aid and encourage higher pay and educational standards for day-care workers.
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MORE ON THE INTERNET: Find audio from Monday’s news conference at chicago.tribune.com /go/poshard