Today, a runoff election for mayor of Gainesville will occur between Craig Lowe and Don Marsh. For the uninitiated, Marsh is running as “The People’s Mayor,” an appellation proudly displayed at the top of his campaign Web site and on many of his campaign materials.
However, his intentions are in stark contrast to this tagline; particularly, Marsh has stated that he’d like to repeal the gay rights ordinance which provides anti-discrimination protections to gay and transgender individuals.
The residents of Gainesville have already voted on a potential repeal of this ordinance in Charter Amendment 1, and I’m proud to say that we came out in resounding support for the ordinance. Amendment 1 was defeated with 61 percent voting “no” and 39 percent voting “yes.”
Marsh’s argument against this ordinance is the same tired “Perverts? In MY bathrooms?” — argument heard time and time again. This argument completely disregards the main intent of the ordinance, but that’s neither here nor there.
Regardless of his or her personal beliefs, a true “People’s Mayor” should at least attempt to be a mouthpiece for the majority of the public rather than promoting exactly the opposite of what the public desires. If the “People” he decides to represent comprise less than 40 percent of the public, then we’re in trouble.
Let’s show Marsh that we, the residents of Gainesville, won’t accept a “People’s Mayor” who goes deliberately against our wishes. Vote for Craig Lowe on Tuesday.
