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Loading ...New era begins in Ft. Lauderdale
03.18.2009 3:14pm EDT
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Jack Seiler began his first full day as Fort Lauderdale mayor Wednesday, putting an official end to the 18-year, polarizing term of Jim Naugle.
During his term in the mayor’s chair Naugle had been blamed for divisive anti-gay rhetoric.Naugle, who was prevented from running last month by term limits. Although he backed Seiler it is unknown much it helped. A former state legislator, Seiler had a huge war chest and spent heavily, defeating two openly gay candidates.
Nevertheless, it is doubtful Seiler will be as polarizing as Naugle. He has received an LGBT community award and although he did not reject Naugle’s endorsement he said during the campaign he supported diversity in the city.
Seiler was sworn in as mayor on Tuesday.
In 2007, Naugle created a stir when he claimed that gay sex is rampant in public washrooms on the beach and called for the city to spend a quarter-million dollars on a replacement toilet that he said would end the problem.
The remarks angered the city’s gay community which launched a “flush Naugle” campaign to flood his office email with “virtual toilet paper” and the police department said there had been only one arrest at the toilet on the stretch of beach known for its gay sunbathers.
Naugle announced he would issue an apology, but instead turned it into another broadside against the gay community.
The conservative Democrat apologized for what he claimed was underestimating the problem, because the county had the highest rate of new HIV/AIDS cases involving men having sex with men in the country.
Naugle then suggested the county tourism office should rethink its ad campaigns that welcome gays to the area.
Last year nearly one million gay and lesbian visitors to Broward County, spending more than one-billion dollars in the county.
Oh Gee. I am so glad after twenty years of increasing gay tourism that we are getting a new mayor whom we are not sure of. I am glad the at the more than one-billion dollars were spent in FTL. I am so glad that the gay community actually stood together and boycotted and marched.
Oh, that’s right. We and our leadership did nothing.
We stopped going to Lauderdale and won’t go back, even though the bigot is not longer mayor. By electing him, the people of Lauderdale demonstrated that they don’t want my business, so I’ll spend my money elsewhere. Permanently.
Wimsy: I just don’t leave New England.
But you should also have reported, that in the Ft. Lauderdale suburb of Oakland Park. The person receiving 65% of the vote for new city commissioner is an openly gay married man, Anthony Niedwiecki, who will be Mayor next year.
Here is how they did it. (both of the couple ran the campaign, and he was supported by Victory Fund, eventually.)
bilerico.com/2009/03/out_proud_and_in_elected_office.php
Fort Lauderdale is a great destination for GLBT tourists. Naugle was in no way indicative of the community in general. The only reason he was elected so many times it that Mayors have no real power here; it is the city commissioners and the city manager that run the city. All the Mayor has is a soap box and he used it to fuel his right wing bigotry. He was condemned by the other commissioners and area political leaders. The sad thing is approximately 10 percent of the people even bother to vote in the Mayoral election; lucky for Naugle he could not run again. If he had, this time people were fed up and he would have been run out of office. If you say you stay away from Ft Lauderdale because of something Naugle said, then you are letting him WIN. That’s what he wanted. That is a short sighted approach and not well thought out. We need to continue to support the many, many gay businesses here in Fort Lauderdale who continue to thrive because of the wonderful accepting environment of this diverse city!
I agree with Dick/Florida.
I have spent sevaral holidays in different hotels/motels (gay & straight) in Ft. Lauderdale and have always thought the people/service were friendly/generous. I enjoy the inclusion of old/young, gay/straight.
I think this change is a great thing for the city.
Michael / Toronto
Thanks Michael; come back often.
Toronto is one of my favorite “gay friendly” cities as well!
Naugle was a blowhard, and Fort Lauderdale is much better off without him.
I used to live there, it was a different place then, homicidal white trash thugs, mafia run gay bars, and frequent robberies and murders outside of them, an extremely hostile police force with further victimized people after being assaulted and mugged, it was a horrible place.
Twenty years later – Naugle is gone, and the last vestige of the homophobic south is gone from Ft Lauderdale. My sister lives there, and I love to visit now. She has some of the nicest gay friends, I have a great time, and it’s well worth going – to board a cruise, or just to go out in the city. It has completely changed.
I would definitely recommend it for gay tourists.