The Anna Maria Commission unanimously voted Dec. 8 to dismiss a petition filed by Cortez resident and former Anna Maria Island Privateers member Rick Maddox over his exclusion from the Privateers Christmas Parade.
Maddox’s petition alleged that the Privateers discriminated against him and his family by banning him from the parade, which was held Dec. 10. He asked the city to reconsider its decision and deny the permit for the parade.
Maddox said the dispute began in 2014 after a judge ruled against the Privateers in 2011 in his lawsuit claiming the group refused to return a trailer he had loaned the organization. The trailer was constructed to be a parade float — Santa’s sleigh.
After the ruling, Maddox said, he wanted to enter his sleigh in the annual Christmas parade. He said the Privateers banned him and his family from the event, which Maddox alleged is discriminatory.
John “Capt. Redbeard” Swager, a Bradenton resident and the president of the Privateers, responded to the Maddox complaint, saying Maddox and his family harassed the Privateers at previous events and they “don’t represent the spirit of Christmas.”
Swager cited a Facebook message from Maddox in 2015 that led Swager to decline the parade application that year. He added that Maddox had not reached out to him this year to participate in the parade before filing his petition.
Maddox responded by pointing out he and his family had participated in the Privateers’ Fourth of July parade this year without Swager’s awareness and without incident.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy encouraged the commission to deny the petition because Maddox’s discrimination claims are not a city matter.
City attorney Becky Vose cited a U.S. Supreme Court case, Hurley v. Irish American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, in which the court ruled the government cannot force private organizations to open public events to those they believe share a contradictory message.
Citing the 1995 decision, Vose said the city does not have the authority to intervene in Maddox’s dispute with the Privateers. She said the city could dismiss the petition or cancel the parade permit.
“Not only should we not, but we are not allowed to force this private group to change what they want to have in their parade. We just don’t have that power according to the Supreme Court,” Vose said.
“It’s not the city’s position to be here,” Murphy said. “This parade is a very important parade for the city and island … everybody comes out.”
“I really wish either this year or sometime in the future you guys can get this stuff behind you,” Commissioner Dale Woodland said before the vote. “We can’t make that happen and we shouldn’t make that happen. But that’s what I would love to see.”
After the unanimous vote to dismiss the petition, Maddox said, “If you’re only given two choices, you made the correct one. No one wanted the parade canceled.”
Both local papers fail to explain what the float represents or the message, if any, which the family is saying is causing the discrimination complaint. A simple photo might do the job.