OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio--City Council President Jay Linn has resigned his office in protest of an LGBT protection bill introduced by Mayor Ann Marie Donegan. The bill's timing coincides with threats and protests against Linn responding to an anti-transgender sign posted at Linn's business.
Donegan said that council needed to conduct an internal discussion on how to fill the council seat left vacant by Linn. In accordance with the city charter, Council Pro-Tempore Linda Garrity is expected to take on the role of council president at the regular council meeting scheduled for Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
"I'm in a state of shock like everyone else," Garrity said in regards to Linn's resignation.
As reported by the Lorain County-based Chronicle-Telegram on Feb. 4, earlier this year Linn posted a roadside sign at his North Ridgeville business reading "If you don't know who you identify as pull down your pants and look".
The sign inspired small in-person protests, as well as negative comments on the Yelp and Facebook pages for Linn's Northridge Auto Repair and Service. Linn said he shut down his personal Facebook page, has received about 30 voicemails about the transgender-related sign. He said these voicemails range from critical to obscene to threatening. In one of the voicemails, an unidentified caller threatened to burn down Linn's business.
However, Linn said his resignation was prompted by Donegan's introduction of a bill that, if passed by council, would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The bill is scheduled to be given its first reading at the Feb. 14 meeting.
Linn--who came into office campaigning with Donegan in 2013--said he objects to legislation that grants protections to certain groups of people, and that would not serve under a mayor who advanced such legislation.
"There's this LGBT legislation they have up tomorrow night. I would never introduce or vote for any legislation propelled by any group except the citizens of Olmsted Falls," Linn said in an interview Monday, Feb. 13.
"I had no opinion of these people one way or another...I don't think we need to address this in any way," Linn said.
Existing law in Olmsted Falls forbids discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin, religion, disability, pregnancy, age, military status, and gender. Specifically, current law protects identified groups from intimidation, and from discrimination in the areas of city employment and housing. The bill under consideration by council would extend these same protections to LGBT people.
Donegan said that the legislation introduced Feb. 14 was prompted by Lakewood's adoption of an anti-discrimination ordinance in 2016, and has been in the works since October of last year. Prior to the drafting of the legislation in January of 2017, a survey of the city's ordinances was conducted by the LGBT advocacy group Equality Ohio. The group also gave a presentation at Olmsted Falls' city council's Dec. 13, 2016 meeting.
"This [legislation] was already in the works before anything that happened with Mr. Linn," Donegan said.
The nondiscrimination legislation is co-sponsored by five of the council's six remaining members--Garrity, Terry Duncan, Jim Haviland, Kyle Miller, and Bob Sculac.
In 2013, the Olmsted Falls-adjacent municipality Olmsted Township was the site of the murder of a 20-year-old transgender woman, Cemia "Ce Ce" Dove. A Parma man, Andrey Bridges, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment.