By Nolan Strong
Representatives for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom have retracted proclamations for rapper Snoop Dogg and Perry Mann, founder of the Exotic Erotic Ball, a 2-day festival featuring exotic fashion, erotic art and a bevy of adult film stars.
A representative from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice was supposed to present the pair with proclamations on behalf of Mayor Newsom during Snoop Dogg's performance, which kicks off the 28th Annual Exotic Erotic Ball taking place this Friday (October 26) and Saturday (October 27) at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
The proclamations were withdrawn yesterday (October 24) due to stricter rules on the issuing process, after Mayor Newsom unwittingly proclaimed February 23 "Colt Studio Day," in honor of the 40th anniversary of a local gay porno studio.
"In the wake of the Colt Studios controversy, procedures were put in place to prevent this from becoming a chronic problem," Ballard told The San Francisco Chronicle. "In this case, the procedures worked and there was no proclamation issued."
Howard Mauskopf, producer of the Exotic Erotic Ball, blasted Mayor Newsom in an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com.
"All we can really do is roll our eyes," Mauskopf exclusively told AllHipHop.com. "What you have here is a Mayor who I think means to do the right thing, but ended up getting fried in the national press. Instead of him standing up for the community, he kowtowed to the Bill O'Reilly's of the world and instituted a stricter policy. So when it reached a final decision for this proclamation to be reviewed by this new committee, they felt it was too commercial because of the Ball's sexual nature and Snoop's past."
Mauskopf said that he was especially upset because this year's proclamation was very meaningful to the founder and producers.
The proceeds from The Exotic Erotic Ball are being donated to the Healing Circle Soul Support Group, an organization founded by George Jurand and Mattie Scott, consisting of 230 Bay Area parent who have lost their children to gun violence.
The Healing Circle’s purpose is to promote sharing, healing, education and action for survivors of homicide and victims of violence.
"This was the first year working with Healing Circle and we were really looking forward to this," Mauskopf noted. "Now in an attempt to avoid controversy, they didn't achieve their goals. It show a lacking of political acumen in the Mayor's office."
For more information on The 28th Annual Exotic Erotic Ball, visit: http://www.exoticeroticball.com/index.htm