Domestic Partner Benefits Council Meeting

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by Ryan Burtner
on Monday, February 08, 2010

The Asheville City Council will face a tough decision after council member Gordon Smith's Domestic Partner Benefits presentation tomorrow.

Council member Smith, a child and family therapist in private practice, said it's an idea whose time has come in Asheville.

"According to a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 270 of 500 of Fortune 500 companies already support Domestic Partner Benefits. If the Domestic Partner Benefits proposal is passed, it would allow the city to attract and retain more qualified employees," he said.

"When the Grove Park Inn is doing it here locally, as well as a major health care provider, we're there. It's just time for government to catch up," Smith said.

Precedent for Domestic Partner Benefits in NC

Domestic Partner Benefits are nothing new in the state of North Carolina. Mecklenburg County recently passed same-sex only domestic partnership benefits at the end of last year. Others, such as Carrboro and Chapel Hill, passed in 1994 and 1995 respectively.

Carrboro's definition will be the basis for Smith's proposal, Smith said, but with one difference.

Where as the Carrboro's definition offers Domestic Partner Benefits for same- and opposite-sex partners, he'll be advocating for same-sex domestic partnership benefits only, he said.

Due to the prohibition on marriage in North Carolina, Smith said there's a lot of things that domestic partners won't be able to access. That shouldn't be an issue, he said.

"I don't see how that would mean that we shouldn't access what's available to retain and recruit workers and to provide a more equal compensation for equal work," Smith said.

Multimedia: Video and Audio with Gordon Smith on Domestic Partner Benefits

One worry is that if the Domestic Partner Benefits proposal passed vote, it could create animosity among conservative city employees, who oppose the measure. Smith agreed this is a possibility, but offered a different outlook on the situation.

"I would kinda turn it around and say 'well how have we been dealing with the animosity of those who can't receive benefits towards those who can,'" he said. "What's already in place to address that? I'm sure the staff having so much experience with that, if it's occurring, will be able to turn that right around. It's not as though we're creating an inequality. Inequality already exists. How have the gay and lesbian city employees been able to be so professional, productive and cooperative with the knowledge that they are being treated unequally?"

So far the council's pre-presentation reception of Domestic Partner Benefits show signs of hope, he said.

"I've been getting very positive responses from other council members," Smith said. "I don't know how the votes going to go exactly. I think folks are waiting to see the presentation and how this will look."

No matter the final result tomorrow, council member Smith said he feels like he has an extraordinarily strong case. He said it's really a win-win situation.

"The beauty of it is that should something happen and it not go through, I'll re-introduce it six months from now and then six months after that and six months after that," Smith said. "Eventually it will pass."

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