Delray Beach Vice Mayor Rob Long stood alone at the dais on Sept. 11, casting the only vote to keep fighting the state after Florida transportation crews twice painted over the city’s rainbow-colored Pride crosswalk. For Long, the issue was never just about the mural.
“Our own police safety data showed that accidents at that intersection dropped roughly eightfold in the four years after we installed it,” Long said. “We were never given a fair opportunity to present that data to anyone.”
Instead, Long says an agency came in without coordinating with the city, pulled a local work permit, and erased a symbol that mattered to their residents.
A Question of Home Rule
While Mayor Tom Carney and other commissioners emphasized the financial risks of litigation, Long called that reasoning “specious at best.”
“We’re not just glorified accountants. We’re stewards of home rule and more importantly, of Delray Beach’s culture and values,” he said.
Long says that even outside of LGBTQ visibility, every city should be alarmed when the state seeks to overrule city autonomy.
“Every city should care when process is replaced by pressure and extortion,” Long said.
What Comes Next
With the legal fight over, Long said he hopes Delray Beach will commit to a “Plan B” that goes beyond symbolism. He’s pushing for both short-term and long-term measures.
He said something with immediate visibility like flag displays, temporary street art, or inclusive language policies as well as a more durable protected symbol like a permanent installation on city property is what he would like to see the city move towards.
“While we just frankly rolled over, I’d like to see the city make a stand in some way where we say we still care about the LGBTQ community here.”
For Long, the crosswalk wasn’t just paint on asphalt. It as a safety measure, a symbol of visibility, and, most importantly, a test of local power.
“It’s a slippery slope,” Long said. “We have a menorah lighting every year for Hanukkah, what if they come after that next? What if they come after our 100-foot Christmas tree? What if they come after our historic districts? They’re already coming after our CRA. It doesn’t end here, right? They just chip away at it. At what point do we take a stand? And if we’re not going to take a stand, then what is our purpose as a local government?”
Long admits he’s still “in shock” at how quickly his colleagues backed away. But he says he’s not done pressing for Delray Beach to follow through on its promise of inclusivity.
“Leadership isn’t supposed to be easy,” Long said. “We had an opportunity to make the right decision.”
