In pitched battle with churches, orders critic to leave city meeting.
El Paso Mayor John Cook
El Paso, Texas, mayor John Cook, who has been in a pitched battle with local churches and the faith-oriented members in his community in recent months and could end up facing a recall election, apparently doesn’t have much empathy for those who support the religious element in his community.
A video has surfaced that shows he gave a woman who was addressing the city council on the issue of its criticism of faith and churches only some 70 seconds to talk, and then he told her to take her “freedom of speech outside.”
The long- and still-running conflict dates back to the latter part of 2010 when the city’s voters by popular petition passed an ordinance prohibiting the city from extending benefits to unmarried domestic partners, which would include homosexual duos.
Some members of the city council didn’t like what the voters had done, and voted to rescind the voters’ work. The mayor approved the move, which promptly triggered a grassroots campaign – which included church members and leaders – to circulate a petition demanding a recall of the offenders.
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