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Police Chief Rory Collins
By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ? Mayor Paul Woodson will not proclaim June 23 as Pride Day for gays and lesbians, but the Salisbury Pride event will go on as planned in a private parking lot with the blessing of a downtown developer.
Unlike his predecessor, Woodson said he respectfully declined a request from the Salisbury Pride organization to declare Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day on June 23 to coincide with the group?s second annual event.
Victor Wallace has agreed to rent the parking lot owned by Wallace Properties at 110 S. Lee St. to Salisbury Pride for the day.
Woodson, new to the mayor?s office, said he has a policy of not issuing mayoral proclamations for matters of controversy, taking sides in political debate or addressing personal convictions.
?I?m not going to do controversial issues. I?m just not going to do it,? Woodson said. ?The event was controversial. It divided our city, and I just don?t want to do that.?
The 2011 inaugural Salisbury Pride event attracted more than 2,000 participants and some 200 protesters, according to police estimates.
Former Mayor Susan Kluttz issued a Pride Day proclamation last year. Some pundits say she paid a political price a few months later, when Kluttz lost the mayor?s office to Woodson by 35 votes.
Brandon Major, chairman of Salisbury Pride, said he was a ?little disturbed and very disappointed? by Woodson?s refusal.
Salisbury?s official core values ? listed on the city?s website in part as inclusion, diversity, fairness and equality ? align with Pride?s mission statement to promote diversity and equality and cultivate harmony, Major said.
?If the city still believes that, what has changed?? he said.
Major said nearly every issue taken up by the city has opposition, even if people don?t protest in the street. At last year?s Salisbury Pride, supporters outnumbered opponents by 10 to 1, he said.
?It seems like it?s more personal rather than it is the business aspect of being the mayor,? he said.
Salisbury Pride will work to change Woodson?s mind, Major said. Tamara Sheffield, Salisbury Pride co-chairwoman, requested the proclamation.
City Council in 2007 voted to include sexual orientation in the city?s equal employment policies. Ending discrimination based on sexual orientation is also part of the mission statement for Salisbury-Rowan Human Relations Council.
?I?m really disappointed in our mayor?s decision,? said Mike Clawson, president of Salisbury-Rowan PFLAG, which led the effort to change city policy in 2007.
While the Salisbury Pride event may be personally controversial to some people, Clawson said, the vision and purpose of Salisbury Pride correlates with the city?s own mandates in its vision and mission statement.
?I hope Mayor Woodson will reconsider and do what is right by his oath of office and his love of this city,? Clawson said.
Since becoming mayor in December, Woodson has turned down three other proclamation requests because they came from out of town or supported a specific business, City Clerk Myra Heard said.
Denials include a caffeine awareness request from Seattle, a multiple sclerosis awareness request from Raleigh and a for-profit veterans coin program request from Monroe.
Other than the proclamation denial, Major said Salisbury Pride is delighted with the support the group has received from the city and local businesses.
Gay and lesbian advocates in many cities wait years for a mayoral endorsement, he said.
?It was very rewarding for us that the city did offer us one in the first year,? he said.
Woodson, who has been on City Council for 14 years, said after Kluttz issued her proclamation, he heard from many people who were upset.
?They felt it was not in the best interest of our city,? he said.
Although Woodson won?t proclaim Pride Day, he said he wishes organizers well and encouraged staff to find an alternate location after police declined Pride?s request to hold the event in the 100 block of East Fisher Street again this year.
?I want the event to be very safe,? Woodson said.
City Manager Doug Paris helped Pride find a location that would satisfy Police Chief Rory Collins? safety concerns.
Holding the event on private property rather than a public street is safer because organizers can set up barriers, establish one entrance, deny entry to protesters and ask people who are causing problems to leave, Paris said.
Major said he believes Collins and Paris are concerned about safety and have no prejudice against the group. He supports the new location.
City Council, including Woodson, voted unanimously last month to close the street in front of the parking lot to ensure pedestrian safety during the event.
Collins said he expects to receive requests for protest permits and has not decided how many he will issue. Last year, he issued only one protest permit, to a Rowan County church.
But dozens of street preachers from across the state showed up unannounced to protest the event as well.
?Even if I hear nothing, I still very much anticipate protesters,? Collins said.
The new location offers ?huge benefits? for police officers as they work to keep people safe and protect the right to free speech, he said.
?If it were on the street as before, I could not prevent protesters from entering the event,? Collins said. ?But with it being on private property, they have the authority to have the premises controlled just as if it were in your yard.?
Collins and Major said Pride and the city have a good working relationship.
Major said without support from the city and Wallace, who owns the parking lot, this year?s event would not be possible.
When City Council agreed in 2011 to close an old alley that ran through the middle of the parking lot, Wallace entered a gentleman?s agreement with the city to make the lot available to the public for community events.
Hosting Salisbury Pride upholds that pledge, Wallace said.
?They are part of the public,? he said. ?We rent to people of many persuasions. We really aren?t distinguishing between people.?
So far, more than 50 vendors have reserved spots at Pride, up from 40 last year. Sponsorships are still coming in, Major said, and the group has nearly 1,700 friends on Facebook.
The festival will include arts and crafts displays, music and entertainment, food, games for children and more from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
While the event will remain free to attend, Major said Pride hopes eventually to make enough money from vendor rentals and sponsorships to contribute to the scholarship fund of Salisbury-Rowan PFLAG, or Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
This is the proclamation that Salisbury Pride requested be approved for the event June 23:
The city of Salisbury supports efforts to ensure that everyone has the right to live in conditions of dignity, respect and peace, and the city continues to advocate for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and is committed to equal treatment of all people.
Pride Week celebrations contribute to reducing discrimination, isolation and barriers faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Now, therefore, I do hereby proclaim June 23, 2012 as LGBT Pride Day.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.
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