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.