Melissa Ross
JAX Chamber Chairwoman Audrey Moran has made it clear she’s comfortable with diverging from City Hall on the issue of the the city’s human rights ordinance.
Moran, herself a former mayoral candidate, says “she really doesn’t understand the motives” behind recent moves to table two competing pieces of legislation looking at covering Jacksonville’s LGBT residents from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.
The Chamber’s full-bore endorsement of the HRO is at odds with Mayor Lenny Curry‘s stance. Curry has said he doesn’t think it prudent to expand protections.
In early 2015, Curry won the Chamber’s endorsement in his bid to unseat former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown. Then in August at a private meeting of local business and civic leaders that included Moran, it was agreed that Curry should be given “breathing room” on the HRO.
What does Moran think about that now?
“At that time, the mayor had indicated he wanted to lead, he wanted to have town hall meetings, as he promised during his campaign and we needed to give him an opportunity to do that. He did follow through on his commitment on the town hall meetings – a painful process is how I would describe that. And he has made a decision that handling city employees via policy is the route he wants to go right now. That’s his decision. The Chamber disagrees. We feel an ordinance is very, very important. But that’s certainly his right,” she told WJCT.
“He was kind enough to call me with that decision. And I was clear to him as Chamber chair that I was disappointed. And I also told the mayor that the Chamber would continue to advocate all across our community, and especially with the City Council for a comprehensive ordinance, and he said he understood that completely.”
“I’m sorry we’re on different paths on the human rights ordinance, but I believe the mayor understands why the business community feels so strongly about it.”
Moran, a senior vice president at Baptist Health, went on to cite the JAX Chamber’s long history of pushing for social justice in North Florida, noting that in the late 1970s the Chamber led the effort to integrate the River Club. In the 1980s, the Chamber pushed to start the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, a continuing tradition.
In 1992, when then-Chief Judge John Santora came under fire for making racist comments, Moran noted that the the JAX Chamber issued a declaration of community values stating that “prejudice has no place in our community.” (Although, as The New York Times and others pointed out at the time, the Chamber’s bold stance may have been prompted at least in part by pressure from activists about the city’s efforts to lure an NFL franchise to town.)
“At that point in time we weren’t talking about sexual orientation, but those words are as true today as they were 24 years ago. We have to be about equality for everyone. This is about human beings. We have to have protection from discrimination. We need to be able to say that if you come to Jacksonville, your rights are protected, and that we have an inclusive community.”
The Chamber’s ultimate argument is the business case for the HRO. So far, it’s not one that seems to be resonating with the mayor’s office, but Moran and her membership will keep making it.
“I’m concerned that the city will lose business if the ordinance is not passed, because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”
