By Phoebe Moses
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, campaigning on Sunday, Jan. 22 in Broward County, received the endorsement of former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle.
During a campaign stop in Coral Springs, the former six-term mayor introduced Santorum, saying that conservatives “really only have one choice.”
Naugle’s remarks and endorsement came a day after Santorum, a former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, placed third in the South Carolina GOP presidential primary. Santorum finished behind fellow GOP contenders Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
Naugle, who was Fort Lauderdale’s longest-serving mayor, said of Santorum: “When you look at the candidate we’re here to support today, his unwavering support for the unborn, his unwavering support for the Second Amendment. He’s the only candidate left standing that has a position on repealing ‘Obamacare’ that makes any sense.”
Although a life-long Democrat, Naugle endorsed numerous Republican candidates during his eighteen years as mayor. He also earned the criticism of LGBT rights activists for controversial positions he took as the city’s chief executive.
In 2007, Naugle said that the city needed to purchase single-occupancy public toilets in Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park in order to “reduce homosexual sex in bathrooms.” The mayor first claimed that his orders to city police to arrest gay men accused of having sex in the park’s restrooms was intended to protect the city’s children, but he later said his purpose was to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Fort Lauderdale Police reported four incidents of male sex acts in public restrooms during the period between November 2005 and November 2007.
Naugle said at the time: “We don’t have men and women having sex together in bathrooms–at least we don’t have reports of that. It’s men having sex with men, and I feel it’s necessary for an elected official to tell it like it is. I don’t subscribe to political correctness.”
In 2007, Naugle opposed the Stonewall Library & Archives, citing pornographic materials among the library’s collections. Stonewall Executive Director Jack Rutland countered that the three titles the mayor found objectionable were contained among the library’s non-circulating archive of 7000 titles, which were maintained for historical and research purposes only. In spite of Naugle’s fierce opposition, Fort Lauderdale city commissioners approved the library’s occupation of a city-owned building. That summer, the Broward Tourism Development Council expelled Naugle because of his positions concerning LGBT rights.
Naugle’s support for the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay troop leaders prompted the nine members of the Broward County Commission to unanimously sign a letter that called the county “safe, unbiased and gay friendly.”
After his public battles over gay rights, Naugle explained his choice of verbiage to describe LGBT issues: “I use the word homosexual. Most of them aren’t gay; they’re unhappy.”
Photo: Former City Commissioner Anthony Niedwicki and his partner Waymon at a “Flush Naugle” Campaign Event in 2008.
Naugle Endorses Santorum – OMG!
I can only ask myself and the public at large a full list of questions; such as doesn’t Santorum already have plenty of crippling, degrading baggage without Naugle’s endorsement? Also, what kind of crazy person accepts an endorsement from the mayor of a large metropolitan city that left office discredited by his own preposterous statements and wasteful proposals? He was expelled by the city of FT. Lauderdale Tourist Council for his derogatory / inflammatory statements which insulted the large gay South Florida community, no? Even though I know the answer would be… a Republican… guilty of delusion.
Oh for sure – Republicans love scandalous behavior. Do we ever get an honest, straight answer from any of the wife cheaters and divorcees defending the sanctity of marriage while condemning gay marriage?
Naugle has plenty of his own baggage – we already know that every library (in the world) contains pornographic images, but only in the minds of the illiterate.
Naugle continues to show his ignorance and buffoonery by stating his reasons for the Santorum endorsement… the anti-abortion issue and the Constitution’s Second Amendment.
Like it is with too many of the similarly disengaged, the right to own as many weapons as one chooses is solid but the Constitutional right of privacy to do with one’s body as she (or he) chooses is far too indistinct for the right to decide upon. They oppose family planning yet are willing to let the world succumb to its biggest risk, over-population!
We can all bet that neither of them is familiar enough with the document to quote its most valuable statement, “[…] ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, and promote the general Welfare…”
Where else does the selfishness and dislike for “Obama-care” come from? Isn’t it greed? Don’t Santorum, Naugle, their families and many others receive the benefit of taxpayer funded healthcare?
So how do we rid our fine city of this “frothy” pair? Shout it out and then flush it!