City Council member Bill Gulliford wants voters to determine the fate of expanding the human rights ordinance.
His colleague, Tommy Hazouri, disagrees, saying he, Gulliford and others were elected to make tough decisions.
Mayor Lenny Curry said he isn’t going to let any decision by council determine what’s next on the subject.
Less than 12 hours after Curry’s final community conversation on the topic, a series of political steps look to make the issue start the New Year off with a bang.
Gulliford filed the first piece of legislation for 2016 on Wednesday. The bill calls for a referendum on the issue he said has little to no middle ground between two deeply passionate sides.
He called it “irreconcilable differences … which now appear more intractable than before,” in a statement released announcing the legislation.
“I just think it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Gulliford said with such a strong response, it begged the fundamental question of whether 10 people — what’s needed to pass a bill on the 19-member council — should decide such an outcome.
Hazouri absolutely thinks it should. He’s all for public referendums on issues like a tax increase, he said, but not when it comes to human rights.
He’s been working on his own bill that would keep the decision with council. Hazouri said he planned to defer to Curry to let him lead on the issue as the mayor has said he’s wanted to do.
But, when Gulliford filed his bill, Hazouri couldn’t wait.
“I’m not going to let a de facto president of the council introduce a referendum that I don’t support that precludes the ability of the council to vote,” said Hazouri. “It’s a cop-out.”
Now two bills on the same topic should be filed by the end of the week.
Both will have language fully inclusive of expanding the law to include the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. They’d just have a very different way of reaching a conclusion.
Meanwhile, Curry wants time to continue learning about the issue on the heels of completing his third community conversation on the topic Tuesday.
He said in a statement he was grateful council waited for those to end, but Gulliford and Hazouri’s plans won’t dictate what he does.
There isn’t a piece of legislation, news conference or special interest group that will determine his timeline, he said in a statement.
“Over the next month, I will determine next steps,” said Curry.
Panelists at Tuesday’s forum debated the merits of a referendum. It’s more frequently popped up in conversations since those discussions began in mid-November.
The Rev. Ken Adkins said everyone should decide. Attorney Jack Webb fired back that everyone decided when they elected council members and the mayor.
Webb said Wednesday the referendum wasn’t a good path for Jacksonville and the city would “become ground zero, just like Houston was.” The Texas city drew national headlines in mid-November after its voters decided against expanding such protections to the LGBT community.
Many within the business community support expanding the law. JAX Chamber Chair John Delaney said leaders are elected to make those decisions.
“If you’re in the middle of a really hard vote, punting it is a safe harbor,” said Delaney, a former mayor.
That divisive battle probably should take place with elected officials, said Delaney, instead of through TV and newspaper advertisements.
“It’s up to them, though, … 20 elected officials,” the former mayor said, talking about the 19-member council and the mayor.
Delaney said he frequently speaks with Curry and heard rumors of the Gulliford bill being filed Tuesday. Speaking from experience, Delaney said it can be difficult for any law to pass without the mayor agreeing with it.
Delaney said it’d be nice to finally resolve this issue, one way or the other.
It’s a point Gulliford made, too.
“Why would I do this?” he asked. “In one word: Finality.”
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