A vote to bring back the city of Arlington’s anti-discrimination ordinance was delayed Tuesday following the death of former Mayor Elzie Odom.
His daughter, council member Barbara Odom-Wesley, was not in attendance for Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said he felt the topic deserved a vote with all council members involved.
“This matter pending before us is extremely important to all of us on council, including Dr. Odom-Wesley,” Ross told the audience in the council chambers Nov. 18. “Consequently, I will be moving to continue this item to ensure all members of council have an opportunity to be heard.”
The council unanimously voted to delay the vote.
It was the third meeting in a row that a vote regarding the anti-discrimination ordinance was delayed.
Ross also said that the new delay would allow the city to continue to speak further with the community and address concerns raised.
Tuesday night’s vote was just the latest of many as the council looks to ensure that Arlington’s $65 million in federal grant funding is not at risk due to federal directives against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
During the first meeting following the suspension of the ordinance, on Sept. 16, the City Council was expected to vote on removing all mentions of gender identity and sexual orientation from the ordinance.
City attorney Molly Shortall told the Arlington Report that council members decided to further the conversation during its executive session and that they needed more time.
In the second instance, on Oct. 14, Ross said he wanted city staff to have more time to evaluate the effects of the changes the council was slated to vote on.
The second delay passed by a 7-2 council vote. Council members Rebecca Boxall and Odom-Wesley voted no.
The vote was the subject of a recent media campaign by the HELP Center for LGBTQ Health that saw fliers sent to about 20,000 households, television ads run and a petition that garnered more than 1,600 signatures.
The advertisements question the values of all council members in regard to the ordinance and discrimination.
DeeJay Johannessen, the CEO of the nonprofit that jump-started the campaign, said he was opposed to the ordinance’s new clause, which stated that federal and state court orders or a legal opinion would justify the suspension of any section of the ordinance.
In a prior interview with the Report, Johannessen said he worried that the clause would allow the council to immediately remove gender identity and sexual orientation from the ordinance.
Ross struck out at HELP Center’s ads that included photos of council members and questioned their moral stance. Council member Nikkie Hunter previously expressed that she felt the campaign had taken the wrong approach with the use of such ads before a vote was taken.
“It is deeply concerning to see that some misinformation has been circulated attempting to paint this council in a negative light, suggesting that we are not welcoming to all members of our community,” Ross said. “This portrayal is not only inaccurate, it’s also detrimental to the progress we have made as a city.”
Thirteen speakers went before the council, urging its members to protect Arlington’s LGBTQ population.
A majority of those speakers asked council members to vote against removing gender identity and sexual orientation from the ordinance, which was marketed in the HELP Center’s campaign, but not up for a vote during the meeting.
Council member Andrew Piel said that the information in the advertising campaign had struck fear into some citizens and was not correct.
“I think that really disturbs all of us up here,” Piel said as he looked at the other members of the council.
Piel, a lawyer, said that he had spoken with other attorneys who told him that if a discrimination case went to court, it would not be based upon a violation of the city ordinance, but rather state and federal law.
“I want you to know what happens here with this ordinance isn’t going to be determinative of whether or not somebody can discriminate against you or for housing or employment,” Piel told the audience.
Ross said the vote is now expected to come during a council meeting on Dec. 9.
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
