It didn't take long for Largo City Commissioner Mary Gray Black to target her challenger's sexuality in the heated race for Seat 1. Black told attendees at a candidate luncheon that candidate Michael Smith is â┚¬Å”misleadingâ┚¬Â voters because he doesn't say he's gay in mailers.
â┚¬Å”I feel that my opponent has been very deceptive in his presentation of himself to you,â┚¬Â she told a crowd of about 50 people. â┚¬Å”I'm going to challenge my opponent to be truthful to you, to give you all of his endorsements, to give you his background and what he truly believes.â┚¬ÂÂ
As proof of Smith's misleading ways, Black showed one of Smith's mailers, that shows a photo of him and a female friend with her young child. Smith has never denied his sexuality and has spoken several times about his year-long relationship with his partner. The attack, Smith said after the debate, was a show of desperation. He's hopeful that it will backfire on the incumbent during the Nov. 8 election.
“I think what she is referring to is that I happen to be gay,â┚¬Â he said at the luncheon. â┚¬Å”I’m not running as a gay commissioner, I just happen to be gay.â┚¬ÂÂ
Smith is a senior library assistant at the Pinellas Park Public Library and ran for office one other time, unsuccessfully.
“I am not going to be up there pushing this agenda,” said Smith. “I think people are more concerned about property taxes and the economy.”
Black's attack garnered at least one new vote for Smith. Former chamber chairman Keith Bailey publicly approached Black after the luncheon to express his disappointment with her. He said that her inciting homophobia was a turn off, adding that he knew her references to Smith's endorsements was directed at the Stonewall Democrats.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, Bailey, 52, shifted his support to Smith.
“I just thought it was inappropriate, and people need to take a stand against homophobia,” he told the paper. “I’m shifting my support to Michael Smith.”
Black has held office since 2005 and in parts of every decade since the 1970s. Her own mailer identifies her as a Christian, married to Bruce J. Black for 48 years, with two children and four grandchildren.
According to Smith, he has only had one negative experience on the campaign trail when it comes to his sexuality. He told Watermark that one 80-plus year old man threw a clipboard back at him when he learned he was in a same-sex relationship.
â┚¬Å”The other concerns I hear are people worried about me pushing some sort of gay agenda,â┚¬Â Smith said. â┚¬Å”I just explain that I'm running to improve the city and that I want what's best for this community.â┚¬ÂÂ
Smith said that the city's budget should be the concern of the commission, not someone's family life or sexuality.
â┚¬Å”Like with most cities, Largo's biggest issue is its budget,â┚¬Â he said. â┚¬Å”I think right now people think you have to cut left and right. But I'm a big supporter of public safety and I think you have to take care of that because it branches out into so many areas. If we have fewer firefighters or police, insurance rates go up and crime goes upâ┚¬Â¦and that leads to other issues.â┚¬ÂÂ
It may be no surprise that the Largo Professional Firefighters have endorsed Smith, as have Equality Florida, The Victory Fund, Pinellas County School Board member Linda Lerner and State Representative Janet Long.
â┚¬Å”I think having a new fresh look at the budget and going at it with a scalpel rather than an ax is important,â┚¬Â Smith said.
Results of the Nov. 8 election will be reported in the Nov. 10 issue of Watermark.
