Reporter's mic shoved away when asking Florida mayor about homelessness crisis

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — A news reporter that tried asking a Florida mayor about the homeless problem had his microphone shoved away and told to "back off."

The reporter, who works for WPEC, questioned Mayor Keith James about the growing homeless problem in downtown West Palm Beach.

Shoppers, merchants and people who work in the area have told WPEC over and over the situation is out of control. Homeless panhandlers constantly badger people for money, snatch food off plates on sidewalk tables, hover over customers at ATMs and otherwise disrupt day to day life downtown.

In February, James hosted a roundtable to discuss how to best address the homelessness crisis in the city. James told WPEC he would explore possible funding for an emergency homeless shelter with the County and local non-profit groups.

Since then, WPEC has been asking about progress toward that goal to address this urgent issue and the James repeatedly refused to answer any of WPEC's questions. Wednesday's encounter went as far as having WPEC disinvited or kicked out of public events to avoid answering why his administration hasn't prioritized addressing this problem.

"'Cause, we're not interested in talking about that." - Mayor Keith James' spokesperson

WPEC was invited to cover the 2nd Annual Housing Heroes Luncheon at the Kravis Center Wednesday, where James received the Housing Heroes Award from the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County for supporting the creation of affordable housing in the city.

WPEC: We felt this would be an appropriate setting to ask Mayor James for an update on his efforts to create an emergency shelter to house the homeless.

James and his Director of Communications Diane Papadakos did not agree. Click the video below to watch the full exchange:

Al Pefley: "Mayor James, excuse me we're from CBS12. Could we talk with you sir?" we asked.

Mayor Keith James: "No."

AP: "Why is that? Why won't you talk about the homeless issue?"

Mayor's Office Director of Communications Diane Papadakos: "'Cause, we're not interested in talking about that. Please leave the Mayor alone."

AP: "He's the Mayor of the city of West Palm Beach and there's a housing, a homeless problem in this city. Why doesn't he want to talk about that? Can you please tell us sir, what you're doing about the homeless people?"

DP: "Al, please move."

AP: "Particularly those on Clematis Street?"

DP: "Al, please move."

AP: "Would you please give us just a moment of your time Mayor to talk about the homeless problem in West Palm Beach? You said weeks ago you were trying to get funding for an emergency shelter. Can you bring us, give us an update on that?

"Is this really how you think you should treat your constituents because they say there's a problem with homeless people and you're not addressing it. If you're doing something, can you please share with us what you're doing?"

DP: "Al, you're inappropriate."

AP: "I'm inappropriate? Why am I inappropriate? We're simply trying to ask the Mayor what he's doing about this issue."

A person who identified himself as a member of the security staff at the Kravis Center told WPEC reporter, Al Pefley, to leave the property, even though WPEC informed the individual they were invited to cover the awards luncheon, and had received a news release about it.

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