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Fort Lauderdale mayor’s comments rile gays
Source of tension
Naugle has also said his efforts have been aimed at stemming HIV infections in Fort Lauderdale, where more than 14,000 people have HIV or AIDS. But for a mayor who has been in office since 1991, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, many call the sudden attention suspicious.
“Broward County and the city of Fort Lauderdale have been at the epicenter of the AIDS crisis for a generation,” said Coleman Prewitt, a gay attorney who helped start UNITE Fort Lauderdale, a group aimed at Naugle’s recent statements. “And for the mayor to come out and say he just discovered this — either he’s completely out of touch and incompetent or he’s disingenuous.”
It is not the first time Naugle has been a source of tension, or the first time he has riled gays. In 2000, he was the lone member of the City Commission to vote in favor of a grant for the Boy Scouts despite its ban on gay scoutmasters.
“He relished the circus that took place,” said Dean Trantalis, a gay lawyer who served as a city commissioner. “Instead of trying to quiet the dispute, he exacerbated it.”
A 'pro-toilet sex group'
Naugle has called this city home his entire life. Because of recently enacted term limits, he must leave office in 2009. He said he plans to return to real estate and would not consider another run for office until his daughter is 18.
He is registered as a Democrat but calls himself a conservative and supported President Bush and numerous other Republicans. He listens to Rush Limbaugh and has framed pictures of Karl Rove and Ann Coulter in his office.
Naugle dismisses UNITE Fort Lauderdale as a “pro-toilet sex group.”
“If I have a fault, it’s at times I’m blunt, I’m plainspoken,” he said. But he said the voters clearly “want someone in office that isn’t afraid to speak the truth and not be cowed by the political consequences.”
He said he has received some 7,000 e-mails related to his comments and says a majority expressed support for him. Supporters have also written letters to the editor, calling him moral and courageous.
“The majority of our elected officials lack the courage and backbone to stand up and be counted,” wrote Jerry Pizza. “Many prefer to remain in the middle of the road on controversial and important issues.”
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