A proposed logo change for Kissimmee is off the table after Commissioner Art Otero used anti-gay comments to try to advance his position that the phrase “In God We Trust” should be added to the image.
When discussing the change with his fellow Commissioners last week, Otero said, “This nation has been moving toward more liberal postures such as homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion and the legalization of marijuana. I’m against that way of thinking. Those are not the values upon which this nation was founded. I think we need to fight for the values we are losing.”
At a subsequent meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Jim Swan read a statement reasserting that Otero’s views do not represent the views of the entire Commission.
“It is my hope that out of this unfortunate situation, a lesson can be learned. I ask my fellow Commissioners to stop and think about the consequences that follow such irresponsible comments,” read Swan. “Clearly,such comments show little respect for fellow Commissioners and residents of this city.”
Swan said the city has been the target of “criticism, ridicule and sensationalism” and that the staff has been distracted from its regular duties.
“There have been threats of boycotting local businesses and future businesses looking elsewhere,” he said. “It has caused embarrassment and shaken the integrity of our local government. Let me remind this Commission that we hold office for the benefit of the public, not certain segments of the public.”
Finally, Swan moved to close the matter by asking the City Manager to halt any design changes because the request to add the phrase “for genuine patriotic purposes has now been tainted.”
Otero did not return calls for comment.
Otero’s original comments sparked action by One Orlando and other LGBT activists, which led to an unexpected discovery. A complaint email sent by Orlando filmmaker Vicki Nantz was auto-returned with a message reporting it as “offensive,” until she replaced the word gay with LGBT. That email went through.
Kissimmee Commissioner Cheryl Grieb, who is openly gay, said she personally investigated that issue, and eventually sent out the following resopnse:
“When you originally sent your e-mail, it was “quarantined” by our new filter program. I had IT research and they found that the word “bisexual” was on this new filter program’s list of words to look for. We have now removed the word from the program so it will not be blocked. I asked IT to check for several other words to make sure we do not have any other problems. Your e-mail came in the day we were transitioning over to our new filter program.
Your e-mail brought this to our attention and I appreciate your patience with our technology. The City’s intention was never to block your e-mail due to its content. We welcome e-mails. I am grateful to you for working with me to find out why your e-mail was originally blocked so we will not have this problem in the future.”
In the meantime, Shelby Day, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) LGBT Advocacy Project, submitted an extensive public records request to Kissimmee’s city manager, to try to find out what is being blocked, why words are being blocked, and who decided which words to block.
“We want to make sure the citizens are not being prevented from contacting Kissimmee official about issues important to them, including LGBT issues,” said Day. “We want to make sure there’s nothing unconstitutional happening.”
Day said she’s still waiting for her request to be fulfilled, but it was a lengthy request and it’s not unusual that it hasn’t been completed yet.
