Dear Editor:
Considering what our nation has been shown over the past few months involving government waste, special interest groups, and abuse in spending our tax dollars through DOGE, at a recent St. Cloud City Council meeting I raised my objection to the city using our tax dollars to support and promote the Pride event at The Ranch.
As I stated, I have no problem with the city recognizing and supporting Black History Month, or the Juneteenth celebration. After all, it is the least we can do as a nation to recognize the shameful act of slavery and the contributions made to make our nation better.
The LBGTQ community is not a race, rather a community of people that have chosen an alternate lifestyle and a preference to people of the same gender. A race this does not make. Therefore, they are a special interest group that is demanding recognition.
Have you ever wondered why, when a grammar school or a library has a story time for young children, that the central figure is a man dressed like a woman? What is their agenda? Well, I can answer that for you. In 2017 the San Francisco Gay Men’s choir, wrote and published a song called, “We Are Coming for Your Children”. Its lines include: “You think we’re sinful, you fight against our right, you say we all lead lives you can’t respect. But you’re just frightened, you think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Funny, just this once, you’re correct,” (Google for the rest of the lyrics) Now, you have your answer as to why this was billed as a family-friendly event with a petting zoo … for our children!
This is something that I believe, and other St. Cloud residents would agree, is not where our tax dollars should be spent.
During the City Council’s special session, several things were brought out that should disturb all city residents. First, the mayor and some city council members felt they were misled about the expected attendance. A non-profit organization out of Orlando said it would be between 150-400. Based on that, the city gave them the same $1,200 rate as last year when they held their event at our Lakefront. Then it was brought out that the city also gave them a $1,250 grant.
When this was discussed, it came to light that the number of people that were expected was really between 2,000 to 4,000. Mayor Robertson understandably was upset. When the mayor asked for 10 additional Parks and Recreation personnel to be staffed, he was informed that this was going to run into overtime hours.
Mayor Robertson questioned both Council Member (Shawn) Fletcher and the City Manager about how could they have allowed the City Council to be misled. The mayor stated his responsibility is to protect a $5.5 million asset, as well as the city from liability in the event that someone got hurt at the Ranch.
In my opinion, the mayor was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he withdrew the permit for this event, the city would have been open to a lawsuit.
Our local, state and federal governments are soon going to learn that it is not about them the politicians, but we the people. And we the people are watching!
Donald I. Gray
St. Cloud
