Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed now has an official “advisor on LGBT issues” after appointing gay attorney Robin Shahar to the position Monday. In 2010, Reed told GA Voice he would not have a designated LGBT liaison for his mayoral office, preferring instead a policy of full inclusion that puts gay people in prominent positions based on merit.
The appointment was made public in a press release sent to media late Wednesday evening.
Shahar is also the Chief Counsel in the city of Atlanta's Department of Law and has worked in the city's law department since 1993.
“I am pleased that Robin Shahar will assume this vital role in my administration,” said Reed in a prepared statement.
“In addition to her keen legal mind, she is well-respected in the community and will be an effective ambassador. My administration and I are dedicated to eliminating barriers to equality, fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and engaging the LGBT community across the city," he added.
Baton Bob appears to be having a hard go of it lately.
The self-proclaimed Ambassador of Mirth, Baton Bob, whose real name is Bob Jamerson, is known for his salty language and has never hid it before. And for the Fourth of July he was out celebrating his independence when he posted to his Facebook page he was angered by a "white lesbian bitch" who apparently asked for a photo during a performance.
And it goes downhill from there.
"Baton Bob" Jamerson is out of jail after being arrested Wednesday, but a trip to the slammer stemming from an altercation with security guards and police in Midtown Atlanta hasn't convinced the gay street performer to either hold his tongue or halt his act.
"I am not breaking any law," Jamerson told Project Q Atlanta today. "They are infringing on my civil rights and civil liberties and if they think I will take it, hell to the fucking no. I will fuck you up. I will not play that game."
Just after 2 p.m. on Friday, Jamerson posted on Facebook that he is headed back to Midtown to resume his baton twirling.