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Editor questions denial of National Day of Reason proclamation; mayor declines to discuss
Summary
A local editor told the commission a request for a National Day of Reason proclamation was denied and pressed the mayor for an explanation; the mayor declined to engage and the exchange ended during public comment.
During public comment at the May 1 Winter Garden City Commission meeting, Noreen Dworkin, editor in chief of Vox Populi, said a request for a National Day of Reason proclamation had been denied and asked the mayor to explain the decision.
Dworkin read the proposed proclamation aloud and said it emphasized ‘‘the principles of reason, critical thinking, and the scientific method’’ and the First Amendment. She said city staff told her proclamations were at the mayor’s sole discretion and that the request had been denied; she asked Mayor John Rees what was ‘‘objectionable’’ about the proposed proclamation.
The mayor declined to take the question and said the city manager had already replied; in the public exchange the mayor told Dworkin, “I do not read anything you write,” and the chair ended the speaker’s time. Dworkin said she had been told to direct some questions to the city manager but pressed the mayor directly when she did not receive a response.
The public comment also included a remark from the mayor later criticizing unnamed attendees for showing “no respect for God, no respect for our country, no respect for our flag,” comments that closed the public-comment period. No formal action was taken by the commission on the proclamation request during the meeting.
The transcript shows the city previously issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation for May 1, 2025 during the meeting; Dworkin contrasted that action with the denied request for a National Day of Reason proclamation.
