Troy High Gay-Straight Alliance, City Council Members Urge Mayor to Release Recording

Members of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) are urging Troy Mayor Janice Daniels, who first made headlines with her last month, to release her audio recording of a with the group Monday afternoon.

The meeting was meant to help the two groups reach an understanding while planning an together, but during a discussion about mental health, members of the Gay-Straight Alliance and their supporters say Daniels told them she would bring in a panel of psychologists to show that .

“There were a lot of disturbing things that were said in that meeting," said GSA member and Troy High School senior Skye Curtis.

Daniels denied making the comment Monday evening, saying, "That is a misrepresentation entirely. ... I never said that."

During Monday evening's City Council meeting, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) activist said during public comment that she would like the mayor to release her audio recording of the meeting at the community center and asked to file a Freedom of Information Act request for the recording.

Since Monday, at least six individuals associated with the GSA have filed a FOIA, Curtis said.

“She did say very hurtful things," said , a Troy High School junior and member of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance. "We asked the mayor to release the audio recording of the meeting so people can hear what was said.”

Moving on without the mayor

Troy's Gay-Straight Alliance has decided to abandon the project with the mayor after meeting with Daniels during her office hours at the . The group is moving forward with plans to host its own anti-bullying awareness event.

“I want it to be known that the mayor changed her mind," Kilgore said. "We had an agreement about the , and she totally fell back on that. She had agreed to talk about her comment about three weeks ago in our first meeting with her, but she backed out of that now."

Kilgore said he and other GSA members and supporters just want to turn recent events into a positive message for Troy residents. “We want to turn it into a positive event. We want unity. We want to talk about and celebrate diversity because we think it’s a very good thing," Kilgore said.

"I think there are a lot of people that wanted to believe that she was changing and she was sorry, and from what they heard last night and on the audio tape, if she releases it, will prove she isn’t sorry, she doesn’t get it, she’s not going to respect us.”

City Council to mayor: 'Do the right thing'

Troy City Councilman Dane Slater said that releasing the recording would be in the mayor's best interest if she has nothing to hide.

"I would hope that she’d produce the tape and do the right thing," Slater said. "I think I’ll let the public take a look at that and see who’s telling the truth."

"I’m hoping she supposedly taped it," Councilman Jim Campbell said. "I would think the easiest way to prove it woud be to play the tape, so that’s kind of curious that she wouldn’t.”

Mayor Pro Tem Maureen McGinnis said she would also like the mayor to release the recording, adding that there may be a procedure to follow before it can be released. “She should make it public and provide it as requested," McGinnis said.

“It’s the mayor’s situation, and it’s something that she should address," Councilman Doug Tietz said. "People can comment and decide what they think. I’ll leave that up to them."

Mayor Daniels did not return phone calls and emails from Patch on Tuesday.

For the latest Troy news and information, follow Troy Patch on Facebook and Twitter.