ST. GEORGE — In response to what she described as “a numerous amount of misinformation” being shared over social media related to the June 3 “We’re Here” drag show, St. George Mayor Michele Randall posted a statement to Facebook Tuesday afternoon on why city government approved the event rather than refuse it.
“Many have requested all public information about the event,” Randall wrote. “Unfortunately, out of close to 800 pages they received (many pages are duplicates), they are only sharing a portion of 6 pages and many without the entire email or text thread!”
The drag show and a council member’s objections
The drag show sponsored by HBO’s “We’re Here” reality show drew concerns from both a city official and some residents, as well as members of the LGBTQ-plus community, albeit for different reasons.
Council woman Michelle Tanner argued in a statement of her own that she did not approve of the venue where the event was taking place – the St. George Town Square – while members of the area’s LGBTQ-plus community proceeded to flood the June 2 St. George City Council meeting over worries the drag show might be canceled by the city.
Tanner said she did not like having a mature-rated reality show held in the Town Square near places children and families frequent, such as the St. George Children’s Museum. She also took issue with how the permit from the city was approved. City staff ignored proper procedure outlined by city ordinance when issuing the permit, Tanner claimed.
Tanner noted that she was warned by City Manager Adam Lenhard that rescinding the permit for the drag show could lead to a lawsuit on free speech grounds. Her response was to “bring it on,” adding that she felt the potential threat of legal action would place undue pressure on her fellow council members to remain silent.
However, while Tanner had disagreements over the venue and how it was approved, she appeared to have no issue with the drag show event itself.
The premise of the “We’re Here” program is to travel to locations in small-town America and stage drag shows as a way to help empower local LGBTQ-plus individuals to embrace who they are.
Randall’s response
While issues raised by Tanner were touched on in Randall’s statement, the mayor did not mention Tanner specifically in her post.
Randall wrote that she first heard about the drag show on May 17 and informed the rest of the City Council about it accordingly.
“’This is NOT a city sponsored event,” she wrote. “’You will get many emails I’m certain. They (the We’re Here program) don’t come in to any town under the radar & unassuming. Reality shows want drama. I will send some pictures so you will know what to expect. If they have a filming permit they can film here. I just found out about this last night and wanted to make you aware.’”
Initially, Randall said she suggested to city staff to try and get the drag show moved away from the Town Square to the J.C. Snow Park located off 900 South along Interstate 15. This location was “not surrounded by residents and it is not downtown.” However, the “We’re Here” producers decided against that location due to the noise coming off the highway nearby and subsequently applied for the Town Square.
Randall then returned to the matters brought up the public records requests.
“The City Manager and I did not direct our police department to monitor social media,” she wrote.
The mayor said it was a regular practice of the police to monitor social media for potential hints of protests or violence. Along the way the credible threat of violence at the drag show was reported and police worked to find the person who made the threat. This also resulted in a beefed up police presence at the drag show, Randall wrote.
“They don’t pick and choose who they protect & serve and I am very proud of the work our officers did to make sure the event was safe for all!”
Randall also touched on a text she wrote that has been shared on social media that is only one of many she sent council members.
“My text to the City Council asking them to stop the text thread due to a possible grama (government records access and management act) request was the only text shared by some that received public records,” Randall wrote.
“A City Council member started the text thread on May 27th and the texts were about the show and its content. Our job as public officials representing the local government is to ensure free speech rights under the U.S. and state constitutions are protected at all times. That means sometimes we have to approve event permits for people and groups even if we disagree with what they say. That is what the first amendment is all about. We cannot discriminate or deny a permit simply because we disagree with their views or based on the content.”
Randall goes on to write that the “We’re Here” producers fulfilled the requirements for a special event permit from the city. Having done so, the city had no valid reason to deny the event lest they face possible litigation for during so. However, the city did impose various restrictions on the event that producers and all involved complied with, the mayor wrote.
As for the event itself, Randall said she was informed by her son, who attended the drag show, that “there were no issues” and “the crowd was respectful.” On the other end, the performers and costumes were not “provocative” or “scandalous” during the event.
“Just to clarify, the City did NOT invite HBO to St George and we did NOT sponsor the event. We followed our ordinance and legal counsel,” the mayor wrote.
The entirety of Randall’s statement can read below:
Statement regarding drag show
There is a numerous amount of misinformation being circulated on social media regarding the HBO drag show, We’re Here. Many have requested all public information about the event. Unfortunately, out of close to 800 pages they received (many pages are duplicates) they are only sharing a portion of 6 pages and many without the entire email or text thread!
I first learned about the drag show on May 17th. I sent the following text to the City Council on May 18th.
Council,
There is a reality series on HBO called We’re Here. This is the premise of the show…
“An American reality television series featuring former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestants Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadley. In the series, the trio of drag queens travel across the United States to recruit small-town resident to step outside their comfort zone for a night of no-holds-barred full-on drag to participate in one-night-only drag shows. The queens descend upon small-town America like a storm of glitter and ostrich feathers to show small communities the human side of drag.”
“They are filming in St George the end of next week. They have filmed in cities like Gettysburg, Twin Falls, Branson, Santa Fe, Grand Junction, etc.
This is NOT a city sponsored event. You will get many emails I’m certain. They don’t come in to any town under the radar & unassuming. Reality shows want drama. I will send some pictures so you will know what to expect. If they have a filming permit they can film here. I just found out about this last night and wanted to make you aware.”
At this point they were not renting any city facilities to film the drag show. I was contacted by our assistant city manager, Marc Mortensen, 10 days before the event and was told they were going to be applying for a permit to film at one of our city parks. He told me JC Snow Park or Town Square. I asked him to please try and get them to go to JC Snow Park where it is not surrounded by residents and it is not downtown.
After HBO looked at JC Snow Park they decided they did not like the location due to freeway noise and no place to stage. They then applied for Town Square. As soon as I found out they were using Town Square I told the City Council at a work meeting.
A couple more things regarding the public record request…the City Manager and I did not direct our police department to monitor social media. The police department does this regularly with events to make sure they are prepared in case of any counter protestors or threats. Earlier in the day the PD received a credible threat of a mass shooting that would be taking place at the drag show. They worked diligently to identify the person who made the threat and sent many more officers to the event to protect everyone! They don’t pick and choose who they protect & serve and I am very proud of the work our officers did to make sure the event was safe for all!
My text to the City Council asking them to stop the text thread due to a possible grama request was the only text shared by some that received public records. A City Council member started the text thread on May 27th and the texts were about the show and it’s content. Our job as public officials representing the local government is to ensure free speech rights under the U.S. and state constitutions are protected at all times. That means sometimes we have to approve event permits for people and groups even if we disagree with what they say. That is what the first amendment is all about. We cannot discriminate or deny a permit simply because we disagree with their views or based on the content.
Anyone willing to abide by park rules and regulations and capable of fulfilling the requirements of the City in regards to parks has the constitutionally protected right to use the park. We cannot make assumptions as to what we think a permit seeker may do or make judgments on what they have done in the past. We cannot discriminate or deny issuing a permit due to possible content. We have laws protecting the public against illegal acts and if those laws are violated, we deal with those situations as they arise. This permit seeker was protected under both the U.S. and state constitutions. Private entities can deny use of their facilities. Governmental entities cannot if the reason for the denial is a violation of the free speech protections. The City DID impose time, place, and manner restrictions on the event which the production company complied with.
The permit seeker fulfilled City requirements and their permit was granted in a timely manner. The City strives to be efficient and customer friendly. Looking back over the permits processed by the City over the past few years shows park permits being granted rapidly on a regular basis.
Years ago the City Council gave City staff the authority to approve all special event permits and the ordinance was changed. The City Council does NOT approve special event permits and hasn’t for many years. The City Council can change the ordinance so they can once again approve all special event permits.
My son attended the event on June 3rd with the PD. He called me when the event was over. He told me there were about 1500-2000 people that attended. He said the crowd was respectful. There were no issues. He said there were two curse words in the show. The performers were not provocative, the costumes were not scandalous and they lip synched to mainstream music. It was nothing like you are seeing across the nation where children are giving dollar bills to the performers who are dancing very provocative!
Just to clarify, the City did NOT invite HBO to St George and we did NOT sponsor the event. We followed our ordinance and legal counsel.
The attacks on City staff, myself, and the City Manager are based on false information as well as misunderstanding of the the law. I have full confidence in our City Manager, Adam Lenhard. He is an honest man and a great leader! Neither one of us broke the law or asked for this event to be fast tracked. I cannot control what others put in an email saying otherwise. The truth is once the application was reviewed and approved by all necessary parties, the city had no choice but to approve the permit because to deny the permit based upon the type of event it was, would be unconstitutional and would be a violation of the law.
I will not debate this issue with anyone on social media! If you’d like to speak with me you can call me or email me. 435-627-4001 or [email protected]
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.