Public Nuisance

Jim Naugle, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, has recently provoked the ire of the gay community of that city by requesting $250,000 to construct a one-person public toilet with a door that automatically opens after fifteen minutes. This is in order to cut down on what he says is a very big problem: gays having sex in public parks.

Yeserday, Mayor Naugle apologized. Sort of.

At a news conference earlier Tuesday, which he announced with a press release that promised an apology, Naugle didn't say he was sorry for recent statements about the gay community -- including his suggestion that sex in public bathrooms is too common.

Instead, Naugle said what he regrets is "not being fully aware of the depth of the problem with sexual activity in parks and public places."

You'd think the recent events involving a Republican state senator in Titusville offering an undercover male cop $20 for a blow job would have brought it to his attention.

Mr. Naugle, who seems to forget that Fort Lauderdale is home to one of the largest gay communities in the country, seems to enjoy his fifteen minutes of gay-bashing fame. It's the kind of arrogance and narrowmindedness that tells you a lot more about the person and their issues than it does about their leadership and their political skills. (By the way, Mr. Naugle is a Democrat. It takes all kinds.) He finds an issue that is emotionally charged and blows it way the hell out of proportion. He makes it the Most Important Thing facing the city of Fort Lauderdale and gets a lot of face time in the paper and TV, gets the opposition into a frenzy, then sits back and enjoys the ruckus. It's not unlike the constitutional amendment against flag-burning; it's a non-starter but it's a great distraction: "Oh, look at the kitty!" Meanwhile, the really important issues molder away while the mayor holds yet another press conference about people getting blow jobs in a biffy. (It also raises the question about the continuing saga of the right-wingers' obsession with gay sex. What's up with that?)

That may be the way to get your name in the press -- and on blogs -- but it's not really the way to run a city, and it's a good thing Mr. Naugle has no plans to run for re-election in 2009. People like him who can't get their priorities straight should find another line of work. Like washroom attendant.

Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof under a slightly different title.