Wichita Mayor in Spat with Local Journalists Over Whether She ‘Refused' to Sign Proclamation or Just Didn't Vote for It
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu is accusing three local TV stations along with a newspaper of misreporting whether or not she refused to vote for a city ordinance about Transgender Day of Visibility.
Wu is a former local TV reporter who left Wichita CBS affiliate KWCH in 2023 order to run for mayor.
The claims seem to center around, to paraphrase Bill Clinton, what the definition of 'is' is, whether Wu refused to sign a the proclamation or just didn't vote for it.
On Thursday, Wu said the Wichita Eagle, along with KSN, KWCH and KAKE News, all "repeatedly misreported" that she refused or declined to sign the proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility on March 18.
"I'd like to ask each of them [news outlets] to cite their source," Wu said. "Let me repeat: while I did not vote for this proclamation, I also did not ask for my signature to be removed. City staff has determined this was a clerical error, and they have implemented a new internal process for proclamations so this does not occur in the future."
'All proclamations are electronically signed and added by staff,' Wu said last week. 'I did not print the document. I did not ask for my signature to be removed. I did not vote for this proclamation, which was the first time Wichita has ever segregated the transgender community.'
'Let me be clear, I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility," said Wu. "How you choose to live your life is none of my business. Please don't expect me to cheerlead for it."
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