Ruben Diaz Sr Bullied For Claiming Gays Control Council, He Says

NEW YORK — A Bronx city councilman on Monday said critics of his claim that the gay community controls the council owe him an apology. Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. said he has been the victim of harassment and bullying following his controversial remarks, which have led to calls for his resignation.

"They [are] the one that should be apologizing to me for all the treatment, the discrimination and the abuses that I have been going through all this year," Diaz, a conservative Democrat, told Patch in a telephone interview.

Diaz has been under fire for his recent claim on a Spanish-language radio show that most council members are "controlled by the homosexual community." NY1 first reported the comments on Friday.

Many of Diaz's fellow lawmakers — including Speaker Corey Johnson, who is himself gay — have condemned the remarks as homophobic. But Diaz has doubled down on the claim and refused to apologize or resign. In a Saturday tweet, he said he was giving the gay community "credit for the power and influence they have."

Diaz, a Christian pastor and former state senator, said he's been subjected to "foul language" and other mistreatment since his comments came to light.

"I am the one that has been bullied. I’m the one that has been harassed. I’m the victim here," Diaz said.

The councilman made his Monday comments after he was asked to respond to Johnson's statement Sunday that the council is reviewing potential disciplinary action against him.

That came the same day that the council's LGBT and Women's Caucuses, which together have 16 members, called for Diaz to resign.

"They [are] going to do disciplinary action with me? They should apologize to me for all the things that they’ve been doing to me for all this year," Diaz said. "Just because I am a Christian? I don’t call them Christian-phobic because they don’t believe in what I believe."

Asked who he wants an apology from, Diaz said, "whoever’s been talking nasty about me," but would not be more specific.

Diaz suggested the demands that he resign are proof of the gay community's power over the council. He also pointed to a 2017 episode in which criticism from LGBT advocates reportedly spurred state Assemblyman Michael Blake (D-Bronx), who is now a candidate for public advocate, to ask Diaz to refund a donation to his council campaign. Blake has called Diaz's recent comments "reprehensible and unacceptable."

Asked for comment on Diaz's latest remarks, Johnson's communications director pointed to a Sunday statement from the speaker.

"In the aftermath of Council Member Diaz, Sr.'s deeply offensive comments about the LGBTQ community - as well as his indefensible refusal to apologize or even acknowledge the hurt he has caused - many Members have called for disciplinary actions against him and/or his resignation. I feel their anger and their pain," Johnson, a Democrat, said. "We are currently reviewing all potential disciplinary scenarios. Nothing is off the table."

Diaz is a fixture in Bronx politics who has long held conservative positions out of step with most of his fellow Democrats.

He voted against the legalization of same-sex marriage as a state senator and vehemently opposed the recently passed Reproductive Health Act, which strengthened the state's abortion protections. His son, Democratic Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., recently spoke out in support of the latter bill and has condemned his father's recent remarks.

Johnson named the elder Diaz as the chair of a newly created For-Hire Vehicles Committee last year. The councilman sits on five other committees including the panels on transportation and public housing.

Criticism of Diaz continued on Monday as the dustup entered its third full day. The head of the LGBT Network, an association of nonprofits serving Queens and Long Island, called for the lawmaker's resignation in a Monday morning statement.

"Councilman Diaz Sr. has for far too long had a platform to preach and wrongly validate hate and it is long overdue that he steps down before he continues to cause more damage to our youth," said David Kilmnick, the group's president and CEO.

(Lead image: City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. is seen in February 2018. Photo by Emil Cohen/New York City Council)