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Troy Mayor: 'Homosexual Lifestyle Is Dangerous'

TROY (Talk Radio 1270) Embattled Mayor Janice Daniels, who faces a recall effort kicked off after an anti-gay slur on her Facebook page, visited Charlie Langton's morning show Wednesday on Talk Radio 1270 to share her side of the story.

Daniels told Langton she objected to anyone bringing in the Facebook post because "I made that comment before I even considered running for mayor," then she offered this:

"What I said while I was mayor ... I was in a business meeting, I come from a business perspective ... I said that I would bring a doctor into a meeting that would say that the homosexual lifestyle is dangerous," Daniels said, adding,"Had I been with a group of smokers I might have said I would like to bring a doctor into this meeting to say that smoking is dangerous."

Is it dangerous to be gay? Langton asked.

"I think that doctors can make a case for it certainly," the mayor said, adding that she "had no opinion" on whether being gay is more dangerous than smoking.

Daniels first came under fire for using the word "queers" on her Facebook page, in a post objecting to homosexuals being able to marry, which was posted before she was elected and came to light after she was mayor. As mayor of upscale Troy, the Republican drew public furor for voting to reject $8.4 million in federal grant money for construction of a transit center in Troy, and calling the city charter "whimsical."

"(It's) when you define whimsical as a subject to the whim of the majority of people," Daniels said, explaining her use of that word.

Organizers of the recall campaign reportedly delivered 9,300 signatures Tuesday to the Elections Division at the Oakland County clerk's office.

The Detroit News said the group needed 7,985 valid signatures by June 15 to force the recall election -- which means unless the signatures are challenged as invalid, the recall election will happen in November.

Oakland County has 22 days to check the validity of the signatures.

"I don't think this is productive for the city of Troy... This is just a diversion," Daniels told Langton. "I would ask that these people come together with me to find mutual common ground."

Langton asked if she had an issue being the mayor of Troy, a place that includes gay people.

"I realize that I am the mayor of all the people of Troy and I love all people ... It was a pithy comment that I made, it was an in-the-moment kind of comment and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to bring this kind of controversy upon myself."

Daniels, who works in real estate when she's not fulfilling mayoral duties, added:

"I am refinancing a home mortgage for a man who I would suspect could potentially be homosexual and we get along famously ... In fact he brought papers into the office the other day and we actually grabbed each other's arms and kind of stood together in solidarity because we're refinancing his home loan ..."

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