So it turns out that you don’t have to be a MAGA-led GOP  politician to be a rampant homophobe who has also had multiple female staff complain about inappropriate behavior and unwanted sexual advances, like Steven Meiner.  This current Mayor of Miami Beach has no affiliation to any political party in a city that, until recently, was considered one of the bluest areas of red-leaning  Florida, but his behaviour seems increasingly like that of The Orange Man in The White House.

As documented by Wikipedia, in 2007, Meiner moved to Miami Beach where he joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a civil law enforcement attorney. According to Wikipedia, during his time in the position, multiple female staff members complained about inappropriate behavior and unwanted sexual advances. One of the women lodged an official complaint, prompting an internal review in 2016. In an earlier incident, Meiner tried to kiss a female staffer who joined him for dinner. In 2019, Meiner won a seat on the City Commission of Miami Beach.

Wikipedia goes on to explain  “After the general election, he was opposed by former City Commissioner Michael Góngora. When asked during the campaign about allegations of inappropriate workplace sexual activity, Meiner blamed the reports on anti-Semitism and claimed that colleagues were motivated by his pro-Israel stance.Meiner won with approximately 54% of the votes, with approximately 10,000 ballots cast

The Miami Herald initially endorsed Meiner in his oiginal mayoral run, but later withdrew its endorsement as it found that the allegations of inappropiate conduct to be credible.  The newspare  has been pushing for the release of records related to any complaints about Meiner’s conduct during his time at the SEC. The agency initially wouldn’t reveal whether any such records existed but later agreed to search for the records after the Herald filed an appeal. The records have not yet been released. Sound familiar to you?

In March this year Meiner staying true to form  threatened to boot the queer run nonprofit art house movie theater O cinema from city-owned property over its decision to screen the Academy Award-winning documentary “No Other Land.”  The Miami Herald reported that Mayor Steven Meiner wrote in a newsletter to the city’s residents that he believes the film, which addresses the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, promotes antisemitism and that leaders from O Cinema on South Beach reneged on an agreement with him to prevent its showing.“I am a staunch believer in free speech,” Meiner, who is Jewish, wrote in his newsletter. “But normalizing hate and then disseminating antisemitism in a facility owned by the taxpayers of Miami Beach after O Cinema conceded the ‘concerns of antisemitic rhetoric,’ is unjust to the values of our city and residents and should not be tolerated.”

He withdrew his resolution to evict the theater on only after overwhelming public pressure and when it was evident he did not have the support of the majority of the Commission.

Now this great believer of  Freedom of Speech doesnt think it applies to the LGBTQ communty in a city that is just about 200 miles from Orlando and the Pulse Massacre.  Meiner is Missing In Action just as Governor De Santis bulldozers are digging up Miami Beach’s rainbow crossings on its world famous Ocean Drive.   This is a city that is home to one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the U.S, has its own Gay Chamber of Commerce, and according  to Williams Institute Data (March 2021) is a significant gay tourism destination, attracting over 1 million LGBTQ+ visitors annually who spend over $1.7 billion.