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Target CEO Defends Donation To Anti-LGBT Minnesota Candidate, Reaffirms Support For LGBT Community

07/27/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The donation by Target Corporation to a Republican PAC supporting Republican candidate Tom Emmer is not sitting well with some shoppers and even some of its employees. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel has stated in a letter sent to employees at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters “We do not have a political or social agenda.” He also stated that the company does not always endorse the full run of positions taken by the organizations or candidates that it supports.

This is, of course, good news of sorts since the majority of money donated by Target has gone to the Republican Party, mostly on the state and local level.

Steinhafel has stated that he has been hearing from lesbian and gay employees over this donation since Emmer is vehemently opposed to same-sex marriage. Steinhafel reaffirmed that the company supports the LGBT Community unwaveringly.

Target donatted some $150,000 to a Republican-friendly political fund called MN Forward. The group is running ads in support of Emmer. Best Buy also gave $100,000 to the group.

According to a Target spokeswoman Lena Michaud, the company supports causes and candidates “based strictly on issues that affect our retail and business objectives.” Of course, donating to a bigot may end up effecting the bottom line when many lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transpeople, who have a combined $743 billion worth of buying power, shop elsewhere.

Laura Hedlund, a former Democratic campaign worker, said “I think Target is making a huge mistake.” She stood outside of a suburban Minneapolis Target urging shoppers to go elsewhere. Others have called for a boycott of the stores in the state.

Michaud, however, has assured the press and public that TargetCitizens, the company’s federal political action committee, spreads donations evenly between Democrats and Republicans. The PAC’s money is collected from employees and shareholders.

Emmer, however, contradicts the image of Target rather badly. This is a candidate who opposes same-sex marriage, supports Arizona’s unconstitutional immigration law, and advocated for chemical castration for sex offenders. In all likelihood, the only thing that Target is supporting Emmer on is that he wants to lower taxes. Target, however, has supported the annual Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival, and donated to public school programs and local food shelves.

MN Forward is supposedly nonpartisan, but Emmer is the only candidate that they are supporting in this election.

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