Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Business in Oklahoma suffers because Sally Kern won't shut up

Pam tells how businesses, many of which today have gay clients, are second guessing their association with Oklahoma state.

Here's a gem:

Tom Maloney, vice president of California-based Staubach Co., would neither confirm nor deny that the 1,000-employee, AAA-rated client company's top executive is a lesbian who expressed concern over Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern's recent anti-homosexual statements, as has been the topic circulating among local business leaders.

Roy Williams, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, said the issue is a major concern the chamber is trying to address. He confirmed a Staubach consultant was troubled by Kern's comments during a recent visit to the city.
"He told us straight up ... 'I cannot recommend to any of my clients that they should consider Oklahoma City because of that,'" Williams said. "When you have one of the nation's premier relocation experts making those statements, you should pay attention to that and not dismiss it.

"And that's immediately what happened: People said, 'Well, then tell them not to come here.' The problem with that is they (relocating firms) represent many of the Fortune 500 companies. And to be so dismissive of something that's a lot more sincere than people are giving credit, to me, shows a lack of understanding of what's really going on."


** Everything under "here's the gem" Copied and pasted from the Pam blog linked above


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