http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 10378/1039

Published Friday, July 21, 2006

Official Waffles on Avon Park Measure
Councilwoman Brenda Gray voices qualms about illegal- immigration plan.

By Kevin Bouffard
The Ledger


AVON PARK -- Councilwoman Brenda Gray, the swing vote on passage of Avon Park's controversial illegal immigration ordinance, said she is rethinking her support for the measure, scheduled for a final vote Monday.

"I'm not sure today," Gray told The Ledger on Wednesday evening from her front porch. "This whole ordinance as stated is written poorly. Some things stated as facts, I don't know that they are facts."

Gray added that she doesn't accept the ordinance's initial premise that "illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, contributes to overcrowded classrooms and failing schools, subjects our hospitals to fiscal hardship and legal residents to substandard quality of care and destroys our neighborhoods . . ."

However, Gray said, she does think housing code enforcement and other problems stemming from illegal immigration "diminishes our overall quality of life," as the ordinance also states.

The ordinance, which has brought unprecedented national media attention to the city of nearly 9,000 residents in northern Highlands County, would prohibit the city from giving a business license, contract or grant to any business "that aids and abets illegal aliens or illegal immigration for a period no less than five years from its last offense."

It would also make English the official language of the city and would bar any municipal business in any other language.

The councilwoman voted for the proposed ordinance on first reading at the June 26 meeting, even though she had seen it only hours earlier, she said. It passed 3-2.

None of the other four council members has indicated they are reconsidering their votes.

Gray said she had intended to vote for the ordinance at Monday's council meeting, when it is scheduled for a final vote, until she heard about outgoing City Attorney Michael Disler's remarks made Saturday.

"I was stunned at the city attorney's comments," she said.

In a July 13 Ledger story, Disler called the ordinance poorly drafted and unconstitutional. It was the first time the city attorney, who played no role in drafting the ordinance, had commented on it publicly.

Two days later, at a special council meeting on the new municipal budget, the five-person council voted unanimously to dismiss Disler. Gray said she was upset that Disler did not comment on the ordinance during the June 26 council meeting.

"He should have told us something. If that were the case, it would not have gotten this far. It could have saved a lot of grief," the councilwoman said.

The legal questions raised by Disler have caused her to reconsider her support, Gray said. She initially supported the ordinance because of concern about illegal immigration stemming from her work as a state parole and probation officer in Sebring.

"That's why I can't approve of anybody breaking the law. That's my job. That's near and dear to my heart," she said.

Gray said she wouldn't support the ordinance if she concludes it is unconstitutional and that she needs to do more research on the question before Monday's meeting. But she acknowledged that question might not be resolved by next week without a city attorney.

In addition to constitutional questions, Gray said she also agreed with Disler that the ordinance is vaguely worded. She pointed to how city officials enforcing the law would define "aid and abet."

Despite her concerns, Gray would not say Wednesday whether she would vote for or against the ordinance or even whether she would seek to delay a final vote to study the issues further.

One reason for her indecision is that the ordinance has strong support from Avon Park's black community, according to Gray, the council's only black representative.

"The majority of the black community is expressing wishes for the ordinance to be passed. They say it's been a long time needed," she said.

Out of some 100 black residents who've spoken to her about the ordinance, only two expressed opposition, Gray said. Both gave no reason for their opposition beyond saying it's not right.

One strong supporter of the ordinance was Willie Jenkins, 58, a lifelong Avon Park resident who was visiting Gray that evening.

"My main concern is jobs (taken by illegal immigrants) are not going to be limited to migrant jobs," Jenkins said. "You're going to have jobs at Winn-Dixie and Kmart that citizens could get that will go to illegal immigrants just because they can speak Spanish. We've got high school (graduates) looking for jobs, and they can't get them because they're not bilingual."

Gray agreed the black community supported the ordinance in part because of a long-standing competition with the Hispanic community for good jobs and housing.

The councilwoman pointed to the Palms of Lake Tulane, a new public housing development in her neighborhood where most residents are Hispanic. The rules used to determine eligibility for public housing, such as no misdemeanor or felony convictions in the past five years, disqualifies many black applicants, she said.

Gray said she was sensitive to the criticism raised by many Hispanic residents that the ordinance is discriminatory, but she rejected it.

"I don't believe the ordinance is discriminatory because it identifies only illegal immigrants," she said. "I want to be fair to the citizens of Avon Park."