Mayor Iorio will be honored—again
We love Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio—and the LGBT community isn’t afraid to say so. A special Mayor’s Luncheon at Streetcar Charlie’s is slated for noon on June 1. Our buddies Mark Bias and Carrie West at MC Film Fest are selling tickets for $30 and want to show appreciation for the mayor’s LGBT-inclusive policies. Some tickets are still available and can be purchased at their store in the heart of Ybor City’s GaYbor District.
St. Pete Mayor welcomes guests to Pride
Okay, we have an inside track on this since Watermark published the St. Pete Pride Program again this year, but held within the first few pages there is a very historic and symbolic letter—from the Mayor of St. Petersburg. For years St. Pete’s former mayor, Rick Baker, ignored the city’s largest Grand Central District celebration and would even opt out of photos when the city proclaimed June as Gay Pride Month. But this year, newly elected mayor Bill Foster welcomes revelers in the first few pages of the guide on official letterhead. Foster, who has consistently said he would not attend the June 26 celebration, may be coming around and there are rumors that me may make an appearance, albeit an unofficial one. Notice, however, that in that letter he never uses the term “gay” or “LGBT.” He does mention diversity, though, which we’ll take as a huge step toward recognition by our elected leader.
Pride Tampa Bay joins Stand Up Florida
Zeke Fread has fought the good fight for LGBT equality for years and is most commonly linked to Pride Tampa Bay. Fread contacted media outlets to let us know that he has not gone away. In fact, he has doubled his efforts and has officially joined forces with Stand Up Florida. “We just celebrated our first year and I couldn’t be more proud with what we have accomplished in such a short time.” The two groups organized a Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Harvey Milk on May 22 and is now focused on Exxon/Mobil’s lack of domestic partner benefits, which the company stopped offering back in 1999.
