Commissioners will likely discuss on Tuesday whether or not it’s too risky to sponsor Pride events in Delray Beach, after a heated debate ensued at the last city commission meeting.
At that April 8 meeting, commissioner Juli Casale said she spoke to Ballard Partners lobbyist Mathew Forrest about whether sponsoring events like Pride would impact the city’s state funding.
In an email provided to OutSFL that Forrest sent to City Manager Terrence Moore, Forrest said he told Casale that the state will likely “not support organizations that it feels are using government funds to support programs, events, etc. that are inconsistent with the policies of the State of Florida.”
He cited a Feb. 24 executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that created Florida’s own version of DOGE, intended to identify and report “unnecessary spending within county and municipal governments."
Moore said he would assemble written material based on his conversations with Forrest to present at Tuesday’s city commission meeting, but the topic hasn’t been listed as an official agenda item at the time of publication.
During the April 8 meeting, Casale clarified she wasn’t looking to eliminate the event. Instead, she said she wanted to find ways for it to be privately funded by donors and not sponsored by the city, similar to Fort Lauderdale and Lake Worth Beach. This would, however, remove it from the list of 21 annual city-sponsored special events, which include Christmas tree lighting ceremonies and a St. Patrick's Day parade and festival.
Casale said losing state funding over the event would put a burden on taxpayers.
“I don't want anybody to feel unsupported, and I don't want anybody to feel this is an attack on them,” Casale told OutSFL. “But I also think when you tell people there are financial consequences that the taxpayers could feel, people do understand that.”
Casale, who sat on the commission that initiated the Pride events in Delray Beach, said she wanted to have the discussion given the ramifications it could have on residents in a politically-tense state.
“This is where this is a challenging subject, because yes, you want to say we should be fighting for what's right on a personal level,” Casale said. “But on a political level, it's a risky proposition for residents. They have things to lose.”
Some commissioners like Tom Markert agreed with Casale, citing Forrest’s concerns, and were open to discussing the issue further.
But the discussion alone left a sour taste in other commissioners' mouths. Both Deputy Vice Mayor Angela Burns and Vice Mayor Rob Long expressed disapproval of the idea during the meeting. Long said there’s no evidence the city should be worried about state retaliation, since other cities held their Pride events with no issues.
In a statement to OutSFL, Long said the attempt to tamper with Pride events is “cloaked in false pretexts.”
“As Vice Mayor, I will not allow it,” he said. “When we start questioning whether long-standing community events are politically convenient, we jeopardize the very traditions — from parades to cultural celebrations — that bring our city together.”
The conversation also elicited a worried community response from some. At the April 8 meeting, a resident spoke out during public comment and said removing the Pride events “suggests that Delray Beach is willing to step backwards to silence a community that has fought hard to be seen.”
“Of the 21 city-sponsored events, it’s telling and deeply concerning that only one has been singled out,” the resident said. “It feels less like a logistical decision and more like someone chose the easy target. That choice is not just disappointing — it’s discriminatory. Whether it’s out of fear for reprisal or not, it’s discriminatory.”
Although the conversation shifted from singling out the Pride festival and concert to requesting an economic impact analysis on all city-sponsored events, the initial focus on Pride puts it in the spotlight for any potential changes.
