Politics

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Fires Fire Chief for Anti-Gay Book

Published

9 years ago

January 8, 2015

kelvin_cochran-atlanta_fire_chief-32051

by Terry Shropshire
Special to the NNPA from the Atlanta Daily World

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed fired highly-decorated and respected Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran for writing, publishing and distributing a book condemning homosexuality.

Cochran had published the book, Who Told You That You Were Naked, and spoke about in church, where he serves as the deacon and Sunday School teacher.

“I want to make my position and the city of Atlanta’s position crystal clear,” Reed said strongly and resolutely in a press conference at Atlanta City Hall. “The city’s nondiscrimination policy … really unequivocally states that we will not discriminate.” Any individual who violates that policy or “creates an environment where that is a concern” will not continue his or her employment with the city government.

Conservatives have flocked to his defense, saying Cochran has been subjected to unjust ridicule and persecution for espousing his religious beliefs. J. Edgar White, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention, accused the mayor of subjecting Cochran as part of those “who are punished or marginalized for their faith.”

White is imploring Christians to purchase Cochran’s book and support him.

Reed vehemently and repeatedly denied Cochran was terminated for his religious beliefs, instead saying the book, Who Told You That You Were Naked?, was published in violation of Atlanta’s Standards of Conduct, which requires approval from the Ethics Officer and the Board of Ethics.

According to Reed, Cochran’s “actions and decision-making undermine his ability to manage our fire department” because people under Cochran’s charge need to feel that they are “a valued member of the team and that fairness and respect guide employment decisions.”

“Let’s stop trying to make this about ‘religious freedom,” Reed said with a trace of anger and defiance in his voice toward his critics, “when it’s about making sure we have an environment in government where everyone, no matter who they love … can do their job and go home without fear of being discriminated against. That’s what this is about.”

The mayor was referring to the inflammatory and defamatory emails he received over the holidays calling him the “anti-Christ,” insisting that Cochran’s book is “clearly inflammatory.”

“To those folks who were calling me and telling me that I should retain him, I just want you to know one thing … his religious decisions are not the basis of the problem; his judgment is the basis of the problem,” Reed concluded.

The mayor also has his supporters in firing Cochran. An Atlanta columnist, Jay Bookman, blasted the ex-fire chief for his judgment. “When you have been suspended without pay from your job, as Cochran was,” Bookman penned, “you can’t make it clear during the suspension that you intend to continue such statements, and then expect that you’ll be reinstated.”

Cochran’s book included very strong language about multiple acts of sexual impropriety and iniquity: “uncleanness — whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion.” Cochran included homosexuality among behaviors that are “vile, vulgar, and inappropriate” and “defile [the] body-temple and dishonor God.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.