How did the city navigate being in the eye of a national news storm?
Public Information Officer Stacey Osborne appeared for a second time on Taylor Talk with Jason Hennington Feb. 13, and she shared many details of what it was like to oversee communications for the city during the Christmas parade controversy that many dubbed a battle of drag queens versus the bible.
“It was a challenge,” Osborne said. “Part of the reason it became a story was because it was a popular topic on social media.”
In November, the city announced they were offering a second holiday parade in downtown Taylor on the same day, time and route as the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance’s traditional Christmas Parade of Lights the first Saturday in December, after TAMA changed the rules for participation to exclude drag queen performers on f loats.
Traditionally, the city had cosponsored these parades, meaning the municipality did not charge the group for expenses incurred, such as for street closure and extra personnel, Osborne said.
Osborne said part of the difficulty arose from allowing the parade, which requires a great deal of logistical planning, to move forward, without the city opening itself up to lawsuits for discrimination.
Plus, the city had worked very hard to be diverse, open and inclusive, Osborne said.
“The city has made a lot of effort to make sure we care welcoming, and that sends a message that is completely antithetical to that,” Osborne said.
Taking away the group’s permit was one option that the city didn’t like, she said.
“We didn’t want to do that because this group had put a lot of effort into organizing the parade,” she said. “We weren’t equipped to do a parade all by ourselves, and we didn’t want to. We didn’t feel that was what the city was all about either. We didn’t want to be against the parade itself, we were just against this rule that excluded other people.” Osborne said the double parade, which sparked controversy from people who took issue with the parade’s name, and other issues, was the best solution under the circumstances — but it was still difficult.
“All of those things caused controversy, so the national media got wind of it,” she said. “I told the TV stations the same message over and over. The city is trying to be inclusive to all.”
For more stories about what it is like to handle communications for the city, go to the show is scheduled to broadcast on the second Monday of every month at noon.
The show complements the Taylor Press’ other live show, “Around the Watercooler,” which airs at 11:15 a.m. Thursdays and primarily covers local sports along with other topics.
To read an exclusive story about how city staff engages with the community on social media,
visit www. taylorpress. net.
