Countywide
ounty Supervisor Leon Williams on Tuesday named a prominent gay activist and two minority group members as his appointees to the newly established Human Relations Commission.
Williams named Brad Truax, a Hillcrest physician who is the past president of the San Diego Democratic Club, a local gay rights organization. Truax is also a member of Mayor Roger Hedgecock’s Task Force on AIDS.
Also appointed was the Rev. Robert Ard, pastor of the Christ Church of San Diego in Golden Hill. Ard is president of the San Diego Black Leadership Council.
Williams’ third appointee was Palma Cesar Hooper, an attorney who is president of Pan Asian Lawyers and a member of the Legal Aid Society board of directors.
The Human Relations Commission was created by county supervisors in March at the suggestion of Williams, who said the 15-member panel--with each supervisor selecting three members--would help resolve group conflict and lessen racial tension in San Diego. Although the proposal won widespread community support, it was opposed by fundamentalist Christians who argued that the commission was no more than a front to legitimize the homosexual life style.
Williams was the first supervisor to name his three appointees to the commission.
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