Many of us probably winced last week when we learned that Vero Beach was making state and national headlines in connection with drag performances at a local craft beer and wine bar owned by Vice Mayor Linda Moore. When you think of Vero, you don’t think of drag queens. As it turns out, the story appears to have been considerably overblown. But we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s focus on what we should have learned from this latest attempt by a local fringe group leader to launch another culture war battle in our otherwise cordial and neighborly community. Those lessons are: <ul> <li>While many people here might describe some of Moore’s off-the-dais positions and actions as bohemian – and her world view might not be shared by a majority of Vero Beach area residents – she appears to represent a sizable constituency, especially in the city, where she is a relentless advocate for the enhancement of the downtown district and its neighboring Art Village.</li> <li>The leaders of the local Moms for Liberty chapter, which has noticeably lost traction and credibility on the education front, are obviously desperate to find other ways to attain some semblance of relevance in a community that has soundly rejected the group’s agenda, tactics and, more recently, candidates.</li> <li>Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, appointed earlier this year, has usurped the authority of our local law-enforcement officials without notice and, with no compelling evidence, launched an investigation into a politically driven complaint against Moore and the Kilted Mermaid for sponsoring an LGBTQ Pride-month drag show that allegedly exposed children to a “sexualized performance.”</li> </ul> Yes, there’s a lot to digest in the wake of the late-June complaint filed with the Florida Attorney General’s Office by Jennifer Pippin, chairman of the local Moms group. But we’ll begin with the staunch support Moore enjoys in at least some segments of our community – something that was on full display during an hourlong public-comment session at last week’s City Council meeting. Of the 24 city and county residents that went to the podium two Tuesdays ago, 17 of them voiced support for Moore, who opened the session by defending what occurred June 29 during a “Pride Tea Dance” at her popular downtown establishment and stating defiantly she will not cave to over-the-top calls for her to resign from the City Council. Moore, in fact, has hired an attorney and plans to contest whatever charges are brought against her – Uthmeier did not specify which laws she might’ve broken when issuing a subpoena last week – and created a GoFundMe account to help cover her legal expenses. As of midday Monday, nearly 380 donors had contributed more than $20,000. Some of the donors were among the stream of supporters who spoke passionately in Moore’s defense at the council meeting, prompting her to respond: “I appreciate all the love I was shown … all the encouraging words. I can’t even express how much it meant to me.” Those who spoke on her behalf praised Moore’s firm embrace of diversity, along with her commitment to providing a safe and welcoming gathering place for the entire community, particularly our LGBTQ residents. “There’s a space for everybody at her table,” said Barbara Ruddy, who regularly attends and speaks at council meetings. She went on to add: “Diversity is wonderful. Intolerance is so ugly. There should be no room for it in Vero Beach.” Several of Moore’s supporters shared their Kilted experiences, saying the friendships that were born there have enriched their lives and anchored their connection to Vero. More than a few urged Moore to continue standing up to “intimidation” and “bullying,” with one speaker accusing Pippin and the Moms of weaponizing “thinly veiled prejudice disguised as genuine outrage” in an attempt to impose their morality on the community. Others challenged the inference that drag queens are “sex workers,” defended the rights of LGBTQ citizens and denied allegations that children were exposed to nudity or racy behavior at Moore’s event. The parade of Moore’s supporters included speakers from the city and county – two were from Indian River Shores – and they ranged in age from their 20s to 80s. And the level and breadth of backing the vice mayor received at the meeting raised a larger question: How much of our conservative-leaning community agrees with, or at least accepts, her broad-minded, non-judgmental and tolerant views on social issues? More to the point: How popular is Moore with the local electorate beyond the city limits? We know Moore has a considerable following in Vero Beach, where, in her bid for re-election to the council last November, she was the top vote-getter. Of the 14,835 ballots cast in the city race, she was named on 4,008 of them. Her 27 percent nearly doubled the 14.7 percent of the vote she received when she was first elected in 2022. She’s now serving a third year as the council’s vice mayor. But unless Moore chooses to someday run for county office, there’s no way to know the limits of her support in the community at large. She says she is a Republican and “always has been,” especially on fiscal matters. Often, however, she strays from the party line on social and cultural issues. In April 2024, Moore found herself under attack from Pippin, the Moms and a hard-right School Board member for posting on her personal Facebook page an admittedly “odd request” – for the donation of used sex toys, which were to be dropped off at Kilted and used for what she later described as a “wacky art project.” Moore deleted the post a day later, when she conceded that, as an elected official, the request was inappropriate. She also offered a public apology and made it clear that the toys were never inside the restaurant. The Health Department investigated a complaint – yes, filed by Pippin – but found no violations. Still, the incident was not something you’d expect to be well-received by socially conservative Republicans. The same goes for drag shows. But while Republicans dominate our local politics, they currently account for less than 53 percent of the county’s 115,000 registered voters. The other 47 percent are registered as Democrats, or with no party affiliation, or as members of so-called third parties. Just guessing, but it’s probably not a stretch to believe most of those non-Republican voters are somewhat less conservative on social matters. It’s also safe to assume Moore has significantly more allies here than the Moms, who saw both of their endorsed candidates suffer crushing defeats in last summer’s School Board elections. Now, it appears, the Pippin-led Moms have moved on to local government in hopes of finding new causes they can exploit for attention, and Moore has provided an easy target. “She’s trying to be Tiffany Justice,” Moore said of Pippin, alluding to the political rise of the former School Board member and Moms co-founder who grew up in Vero Beach and now serves as a parental-rights advocate for the devoutly conservative Heritage Foundation. For the record, Pippin has said she filed the complaint as a private citizen, not as the local Moms’ leader. But don’t be fooled: As of Monday morning, the group’s public Facebook page contained more than 20 posts related to Moore and the Kilted event. Just as the Moms failed miserably in their quest to have Moore removed from the council after the sex-toy controversy, however, there appears to be little chance they will succeed in unseating her because of the drag-show event – despite Uthmeier’s curious decision to open an investigation. You’d think the Attorney General’s Office would have more pressing cases to pursue, especially with the flimsy nature of the evidence provided by Pippin, whose complaint included video and still photos that showed a drag queen dancing in front of a young girl and a mother holding a child in her arms. While Kilted’s advertisement stated the Pride event was open to “all ages” from 4 p.m. to close, Moore said only three young children, including one baby, were on the premises when the first drag show began at about 6:30 p.m. – and they were accompanied by their parents, who exercised their parental rights. Moore said she believes the children were gone by the time the “more-adult portion” of the drag show began after dark. “We have this gay pride event every year,” she explained. “We hold it on a Sunday and start at 4 p.m., and it’s a family-friendly event until the drag show starts.” At this point, the visual evidence appears to be inconclusive at best, but Moore doesn’t know where Uthmeier’s investigation will lead. The state’s Protection of Children Act, enacted in 2023, restricts minors’ access to “adult live performances that include depictions of nudity, sexual conduct or lewd behavior.” That law, however, has been appealed and is not currently in effect. “It’s unfortunate I’m in the middle of this,” Moore said. “I’m on everybody’s radar right now.” Not only was she mentioned this week in a New York Times story about Uthmeier, but on Friday she learned that someone had tried to mail packages – with Kilted listed as the return address – to local elected officials. The packages, which contained the sex toys Moore requested last year, were all stamped “postage due,” so they were not delivered and, instead, were returned to Kilted. In Facebook posts, Moore inferred that the Moms were responsible for the prank, while Pippin denied any involvement by her or her group. At the council meeting, however, Pippin cited both the sex-toy request – along with the drag-show event – in claiming that, since Moore took office, “there has been there has been a disturbing pattern of conduct that does not reflect the values, morals or ethical standards of a majority of this community.” Meanwhile, as the week began, there was no word from Uthmeier as to any possible investigation into the mailing. Maybe he’ll get to it later. <em>Photos by Joshua Kodis</em> [gallery ids="220996,220997,220999,221000,221001"]