CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Councilman Joe Cimperman says he has enough support for an ordinance he introduced Monday night that will give health care benefits to domestic partners of city employees.
But he said he also knows it will be a hard sell to those councilmen who oppose the plan.
About 120 unmarried couples are on the city's domestic partner registry, which was first made available in May 2009. Those registering had to show they were sharing expenses on a long-term basis, such as a mortgage or utility bills, to ensure their authenticity.
The registry, which passed in late 2008 as a means of getting insurance, also created a stir. Soon after council adopted it 13-7, several local pastors, led by the Rev. C.J. Matthews of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, banded together to repeal it. They circulated petitions, needing to collect about 11,000 signatures to put the issue to a citywide vote.
But the effort fell way short of the goal.
Rev. Matthews did not return calls Monday.
The Rev. Marvin McMickle of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, who said he is not fond of same-sex marriages, said he is not opposed to the domestic partners law that would give them health care benefits.
Registering does not guarantee any rights or mean a couple is legally married.
Cimperman said 10 council members are co-sponsoring the ordinance. He also said three others will vote for it, "so we have more than enough support to get this passed." He said Council President Martin J. Sweeney has agreed to the debate.
"But I always anticipate a hard sell," he said. "You take nothing for granted in the legislative process."
Council members were expected to assign the ordinance to at least one city committee, and Cimperman said as many as three -- the finance, health and employment, and legislative committees -- could consider its merits.
Cimperman said major firms like the Cleveland Clinic and Medical Mutual already offer health care to their domestic partner employees, and he said the city should follow suit. He also said 21 states, 404 Fortune 1000 companies and about 4,000 other private firms, nonprofits and unions provide the same benefits.
"There's no reason this ordinance shouldn't pass," he said. "Cleveland has the four best health systems in the country in the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and St. Vincent, plus we have the Gay Games coming here in 2014 with over 50,000 visitors coming to our city."
Cimperman also said health care for domestic partners will not cost taxpayers because it cuts down on uninsured care, and it also helps the city in its efforts to recruit employees.
"Plus, if health care is a human right, passing this is the right thing to do," Cimperman said.
He might get more support than he initially figures. Councilman Zack Reed, who voted against the registry in 2008, said he is neither for nor against the ordinance. Domestic partners include members of the LGBT - lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender community.
"I was against the domestic registry initially because I saw no need for it in Cleveland," Reed said. "People could already register in Cleveland Heights. It's too early to analyze this ordinance."
Nicole Dailey Jones, a spokeswoman for Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, said county employees will closely follow what's happening before making any decisions on the domestic partner issue.
Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon said she is exploring partnering with the city so county employees could register their domestic partners with the city and then receive health care benefits for their partners.
"We're looking at options, but definitely I'm going to be introducing legislation," Simon said.
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