Melissa Ross
Surprising some, Jacksonville is on a new New York Times list showing the metro areas with the largest population of LGBT residents.
San Francisco is No. 1 (no surprise), followed by Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; and New Orleans. Jacksonville is the only Florida city to make the list, with 4.3 percent of the population falling under the LGBT umbrella.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we are a Navy town. And a lot of the folks who served, retire here. I know a lot of people who were in the service and decided to stay in Jacksonville,” said Jimmy Midyette, of the city’s newly formed LGBT PAC.
The PAC had endorsed Bill Bishop for mayor because of his support for expanding the city’s human rights ordinance to cover the LGBT population. Bishop is now out of the race, and says he is “weighing his options” as to whether to endorse Mayor Alvin Brown or Lenny Curry in the May 19 runoff.
Where Bishop’s 17% of the voter pie will go in May is the question question of the moment for Jacksonville political observers.
Meanwhile, Midyette said the new survey is further evidence that the city’s next mayor must get behind his community.
“You would think if we have the highest population of LGBT residents in the state per capita, that we would have more clout — you’d expect our needs to be met by our leaders. So it’s a little disappointing, that compared to other cities, we make up a relatively large segment of the population but don’t find that our interests are being represented in government — at all,” he said.
Jacksonville is the only major city in the country that has not updated its human rights ordinance to protect LGBT citizens from discrimination in jobs, housing and accommodations.
