Arlington City Council is expected to vote on the city’s anti-discrimination rules Dec. 9 in what could be the culmination of months of debate and delayed votes.
Three council members told KERA News and the Fort Worth Report that they plan to vote in favor of reinstating the rules. The other six either said they were undecided or did not respond to requests for comments.
The vote includes a clause that would suspend any section of the rules that are deemed to be in violation of federal grant requirements, as determined by a court order or legal opinion from the state or federal attorney general.
It also specifies that such a suspension would only last as long as any conflict with state and federal law or court orders.
The anti-discrimination chapter of the city code, first passed in 2021, includes protections granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 such as fair housing, employment and public accommodations for protected classes.
Under the ordinance, the city can investigate claims of discrimination and attempt to mediate and fix the problem.
Should the issue remain unresolved, the city would refer it to a state or federal agency with jurisdiction over the complaint.
Votes on the chapter have been delayed three times since it was first suspended in September. The votes and the chapter were also the subject of a media campaign across Arlington in November.
DeeJay Johannessen, the CEO of HELP Center for LGBTQ+ Health, supports the new clause and reinstatement as it appears.
Johannessen helped lead a campaign last month urging council members to restore the 2021 ordinance.
He disagreed with the wording of a previous proposal and said he spoke with city leaders to clarify the clause.
“We managed to come together with an agreement that solves both the concerns of the city and also the concerns of the LGBTQ community in a way that continues to provide protections,” Johannessen said. “I’m really thankful that we were able to have those honest discussions and find a resolution.”
Mayor Jim Ross and council member Mauricio Galante told KERA News and Fort Worth Report they will vote to reinstate the ordinance.
Council member Andrew Piel could not be reached for comment but said in a previous council meeting that he will vote in favor of reinstating.
Council members Nikkie Hunter, Long Pham and Bowie Hogg said they were undecided.
Council member Rebecca Boxall declined to comment.
Council members Raul Gonzales and Barbara Odom-Wesley did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
'A personal struggle'
Not reinstating the ordinance could possibly harm Arlington’s reputation as a city that is welcoming and safe for all people, including the LGBTQ community, Ross said.
At the same time, Arlington has to balance its financial responsibilities while also serving the community and protecting those who are vulnerable.
“I feel a tremendous obligation, as the mayor of the most diverse city in Texas, to make sure that people know they have a home here regardless of who they are or what they believe or who they love or anything like that,” Ross said. “It’s a personal struggle because you want to protect the city and make sure that we’re taking care of our citizens here and our residents.”
Galante said the city wouldn’t be able to offer housing assistance without the grant money they fear is at risk because of the ordinance.
Making sure the city’s finances are in order is an important part of his job, Galante said, but so is representing the wants and needs of the people who elected him. That’s made the decision on which way he’ll vote a difficult one.
“If the people of the community of Arlington want a nondiscrimination piece of legislation, a municipal ordinance, excellent, I’m here to represent them,” Galante said. “But my fiduciary responsibility is not putting the federal dollars at risk, especially putting at risk almost 10% of our budget.”
Galante said losing that money would hurt people living with housing insecurity, and he also worries about government overreach.
With state and federal laws offering anti-discrimination protections for people who are in the LGBTQ community, he worries a city ordinance doing the same would be overstepping.
“The municipal government is not for this,” he said. “This is the job of the courts to do any mediation or procedure that is legal or anything.”
But Galante said his constituents want the ordinance reinstated and he will vote that way, so long as it wouldn’t interrupt federal funding.
“I am in support to have a nondiscrimination ordinance reinstated as long as the wording and the verbiage on it will not conflict with federal directives and state directives,” Galante said. “If the people of the community of Arlington want a nondiscrimination piece of legislation, a municipal ordinance, excellent. And I’m here to represent them.”
Galante said he would prefer to have a resolution instead of an ordinance but, since that isn’t an option right now, will vote in favor of reenacting the ordinance.
Hogg is not opposed to the ordinance and thinks it’s a positive way to demonstrate that Arlington values diversity, but said he needs to know the city is legally protected from losing funding.
One concern, he said, is that the city can’t realistically enforce the ordinance.
Still, Hogg said, Arlington needs some way to say that it won’t accept discrimination of any form.
“Everyone believes in anti-discrimination. I haven’t heard a single person who doesn’t believe that and I think that’s an important factor and good for our city,” Hogg said.
He said he feels optimistic about the changes to the ordinance as they’re shown on the council’s agenda but doesn’t decide how he will vote ahead of meetings.
That’s because he wants to see if any further amendments are made during the meeting and wants to hear from constituents during public comment.
Like Galante, Hogg suggested the city should have considered a resolution instead of an ordinance that tries to enforce anti-discrimination policies in the city.
Pham on Dec. 2 said he needed to get an opinion from the city’s attorney on whether the changes would protect the city from losing federal funding.
He did not respond to multiple calls and a text message Monday requesting a follow-up interview after his discussion with the city attorney’s office to share how he expects to vote.
Pham said he wishes the original ordinance hadn’t passed in 2021 because of the debate over it today. Like Galante, Pham said he worries the ordinance’s protection for LGBTQ people deals with issues the city has no authority to enforce.
Hunter, who in the past voted against delaying decisions on the ordinance and against its suspension, said Arlington wanted a city-level protection beyond federal safeguards for LGBTQ residents when it passed the rules in 2021.
“We took an oath to make sure that we are protecting here in the city of Arlington, but those assets do include every single resident,” Hunter said. “My vote will reflect that.”
Piel was on the council when the ordinance was first passed in 2021 and voted in favor of it. During a city council meeting on Nov. 18, he questioned the standing of filing a lawsuit based on a city ordinance rather than state or federal law.
Piel also noted the federal funds the city fears losing are used to help people who are homeless and assist in rent payments for residents who face eviction.
“When all of us up here first started discussing this matter, we felt it was important to balance those issues,” Piel said. “It wasn’t out of any disrespect. It’s because without that money, real people would be hurt in this city.”
He said he still intends to support the ordinance, in part because he has family members who he loves who are LGBTQ.
“It’s important to me,” Piel said. “I’ll be voting to reenact the ordinance.”
James Hartley is the Arlington Government Accountability Reporter for KERA News. Got a tip? Email James Hartley at jhartley@kera.org. You can follow James on X @ByJamesHartley.
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
