We can always count on Fort Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle for making a dumb statement or stirring up controversy. Thanks to term limits, he can’t run again, so he’s being more outrageous than ever. His latest pet idea is a $250,000 robotic toilet aimed to prevent the “homosexual activity” that he said plagues other public restrooms by only allowing occupants to stay inside for a short time before the door opens.
“We’re trying to provide a family environment where people can take their children who need to use the bathroom,” he said, “without having to worry about a couple of men in there” says Naugle, even though police say sex in restrooms is no longer a hot crime. He talked about the illicit sex recently in public meetings, in an interview and in e-mails to residents. There’s already a campaign to Flush Naugle by emailing a virtual roll of toilet paper (or they could just TP city hall 😉
Of course gays aren’t Naugle’s only target. Last year rejecting an affordable housing law he said:
people are mistaken if they think they are entitled to an affordable single-family house on a 40-hour-a-week work routine. People need to work more hours and settle for a condo or townhouse.
“I’m supposed to subsidize some schlock sitting on the sofa and drinking a beer, who won’t work more than 40 hours a week?” he asked.
“I deny that there is a problem. You can buy condos all day for $160,000.”
“One person is working two or three jobs to get ahead and one person isn’t,” he said. “Should we tax the person that’s working hard to get ahead to pay for the one who isn’t?”
Thanks to statements like those, Naugle made it to Democratic Underground’s Top 10 Conservative Idiots list.