TEXARKANA -- A vote on repealing Texarkana's anti-discrimination ordinance will be counted again.
But it's not expected to change the outcome.
After months of debate, Texarkana voters decided by a 4-to-1 ratio to repeal Ordinance No. M-130, an anti-discrimination measure, on Tuesday.
Linda Crawford, Miller County's election coordinator, initially reported the vote as 3,409-881 to rescind the ordinance.
Crawford said Friday that a mistake was made counting the votes and a recount, scheduled for Tuesday, is necessary. Although the numbers will change, the results will not, she said.
The rescinded ordinance states that it is the policy of the city not to discriminate in its employment and personnel practices "because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, political opinions or affiliation."
Another section sought to protect employees and the public from discrimination when using "public accommodations," which earned the measure the informal title of "bathroom ordinance."
Repeal 130 spokesman Steve Oglesby and others in favor of repealing the ordinance were concerned about the city's Board of Directors passing the ordinance in one night, even though people spoke against its adoption. Typically, the board presents proposed ordinances at three different meetings so everyone who is interested in learning more about the topic or speaking on it has the opportunity to do so.
"When I came on the Repeal 130 board, I sent a [Freedom of Information request] to the board and found out the directors had been talking about it about 10 months," Oglesby said. "Then on Jan. 19, they declared it an emergency and had it read in its abbreviated form three times and passed it."
At that point, those opposed to the ordinance had to collect signatures for a petition drive. State law requires signatures equal to 15 percent of those who voted it the last mayoral election to call a referendum.
"I think that number was 1,109 and we quickly collected 2,600 of them," Oglesby said. "The city verified more than twice what we needed and the issue was put on the ballot for a June 28 election."
As reflected in anti-M-130 yard signs around town that read, "Keep Men Out Of Our Daughter's Bathrooms," many of Repeal 130's supporters believed that the ordinance would allow people to use the public restroom that matched their sexual identity, and that could lead to pedophiles preying on children in public restrooms.
Many posted their feelings about the ordinance on the Repeal M-130's Facebook page, including Rhonda Cash-Moore.
"Glad we won. If they [want] their own bathroom, let them get a [Porta Potty]. Then it will just be for them. Put a sign saying transgender here. All they want is to make a [spectacle] of [themselves]. Churches stand together and we will always win."
Supporters of the ordinance note that it never mentions bathrooms, but Oglesby said it does in a subtle way.
"It doesn't say public restrooms, but it mentions public accommodations and on the National Center for Trans Equality, this means public restrooms as well as say, the coffee bar at Books-A-Million in Texarkana," he said.
"This was couched as an anti-discrimination issue, but it is not really a gay issue. People said that, but it's not. And it was also not about making it legal to discriminate against blacks and Mexicans. It didn't make it legal to fire someone because [of race]," Oglesby said.
City Director Tim Johnson put the item on the Jan. 19 agenda with the goal of making the city seem more progressive to businesses that were looking to relocate to Texarkana. Johnson said late Friday that he wasn't really surprised the measure was repealed but was impressed with the amount of people who came out to vote for a one-item special election.
"Voters have spoken. They don't want one, so we don't have one," Johnson said.
He said that if there are people who say they want a discrimination protection ordinance again, they can come forward and try another time.
Johnson said what disappointed him about the M-130 campaign was how the issue was portrayed. He said the majority of Fortune 500 companies have policies worded similarly to the ordinance, and he thought Texarkana's having such a measure in place would make it more appealing to progressive companies looking for a place to expand or relocate.
"There were so many mis-truths out there about the ordinance. I don't think anyone involved with the city would intentionally discriminate against anyone, but this is kind of one of those things you need to be proactive on," Johnson said.
"You don't want to be standing there saying what you should have done. It is kind of like closing the barn door after the cow has gotten out. We were trying to be proactive rather than reactive as we have been so long -- we've been late to the dance a lot. But then again, this is how the people have voted," he said.
Texarkana Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell said she does not think the ordinance was brought up as part of a hidden agenda, and said she and board members thought it would help the city with economic development, which she said is sorely needed.
She said she does regret that the ordinance wasn't read on three different nights so that more people could have expressed their opinions.
"This was deafeningly defeated because people saw it and overturned it and I eventually heard someone ask how better to use it than a pedophile, or someone who wants to dress up like a woman and go into a bathroom and assault a child if they were so inclined," Penney-Bell said. "I can't envision it, but I know now that people who voted to repeal it were very, very serious. We have this process set up in a democracy, and if the citizens do not feel that we have represented them as they wish, it is their option to put it on the ballot."
Penney-Bell said the governing rules of city government dictate that the board cannot revisit an issue until 180 days have passed, so voters got the matter taken care of faster, by collecting signatures and taking it to the polls, than the board could have.
Whether or not Ordinance No. M-130 would have attracted businesses to Texarkana is now a moot point, she said.
"We were just trying to attract business and we will just see how this plays out," she said. "It was an honest attempt to do something because the directors know that one of my top priorities was to attract industry here and good jobs. This will now not be brought up again. It's a dead issue."
State Desk on 07/03/2016