Writing about Ted Bryant got me thinking about my dad and I did a Google search. His name showed up in a recent article from a local newspaper in Florida – in one of those “this day in history columns.” Back in 1988 he refused to air ads on KOIN-TV that the Oregon Citizens Alliance hoped to run in their effort to overturn then-Governor Goldschmidt’s executive order banning discrimination against gays in the executive department of state government. Here’s the story:

15 YEARS AGO Oregon TV Stations refuse phobic ads – Portland, Ore.: Four Portland television stations have refused to air an ad promoting the passage of Ballot Measure Eight, the proposed repeal of Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s executive order banning anti-gay discrimination in the state. The controversial 30-second ad features a young boy being placed in the foster care of two gay men. In the spot, a social worker turns to the boy and says, "Well Ryan, shall we meet your new parents?" as the camera pans to two men sitting on a bench. At the end, the boy asks, "But which one is the mommy?" "The spot is extremely inflammatory and distasteful," said Steve Currie operations manager for KOIN, one of the stations rejecting the ad. Supporters of the measure are screaming censorship over the stations’ refusal to carry the ad, arguing that gay foster parents present an improper role model for children. But officials of the state’s Children’ Services Division (CSD) say that only do they know of no problems involving gay foster parents, but passage of the measure will not affect the state’s open foster care policy anyway. Also, the phobes have acknowledged that their ad is inaccurate, since the CSD has allowed gay men and lesbians to be foster parents for several years, long before Goldschmidt was elected in 1986 and signed the 1987 order. The rejection of the ad is the latest in a series of controversial events surrounding the Measure Eight campaign. Two weeks ago, the Oregon Citizens Alliance, the group spearheading the ballot measure campaign, engaged in name-calling of various state officials opposing the measure and called Secretary of State Barbara Roberts a "fairy queen" for her support of gay and lesbian civil rights. Source: THE WEEKLY NEWS, November 9, 1988