San Jose city council candidate crashes LGBT community news conference
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- In San Jose, members of the LGBT community were stunned after a city council candidate crashed a press conference they were holding to share their concerns about him. A showdown ensued, and ABC7 News was there for it.
Outside the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center in San Jose Friday, there was an unexpected at what turned into a very heated press conference.
"Since no one has actually taken the time here to come out and speak with me or given me a phone call to ask for my opinion, I figured I'd come out here and share my opinion with everybody else here," said San Jose City Council candidate Steve Brown.
It was a "war of words" between Brown and LGBT community leaders, as well as their allies on Friday.
Prior to the California primary, conservative policy group The Values Advocacy Council published a voter guide in which Brown said yes to supporting legislation that would prohibit discrimination against individuals, organizations, and small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
As a business owner, Brown says the federal government shouldn't tell him or anyone else how to run their company.
"We need to teach our children not to discriminate, we need to uphold anti-discrimination, but we need to stop with the hate mongering," he said.
On Friday afternoon Brown refused to say if he supports gay marriage, but did say he has no interest campaigning to take away that right.
However, Democratic State Asemblyman Evan Low didn't buy it.
"This is an opportunity for us to highlight the positions that he has, the far radical-right positions that he has, and this is about accountability," he said.
Brown is calling this a smear campaign against him.
He's been endorsed by groups such as the Santa Clara county Republican Party, and the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.
And will face Sergio Jimenez in the general election.
Click here for full coverage on the 2016 election.
