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Despite calls for separation of church and state, the Inglis mayor has become a media darling.
By ALEX LEARY
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 8, 2001
INGLIS -- It's hard work being a media darling. One day the BBC is calling; the next, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
"I've gotten phone calls from all over the world," said Carolyn Risher, the mayor who put this tiny town on the map by banishing Satan with an official proclamation.
In the days since her story made headlines, Risher has been deluged with phone calls and letters. "It has been overwhelming," she said Friday.
She has been interviewed on radio stations from Oklahoma City to Alaska and England. Last week, she said, Harper's magazine called to request a copy of her proclamation, which states:
"Be it known from this day forward that Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis. Satan is herby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens."
The proclamation, inserted into hollowed-out fence posts at the four entrances to town, drew criticism from some who said it violates the separation of church and state.
The town's attorney said Risher should not have put the edict, which repeatedly referred to Jesus Christ, on town letterhead.
Polly Bowser, an Inglis resident who is organizing a petition to have the mayor removed from office, said she has been contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
"The woman has broken the law and nobody notices it," Bowser said, scoffing at the positive reception Risher has received.
"She took separation of church and state and blew it out of the water. It's like, "I'm the mayor, whose going to do anything?' "
Risher, 61, remains resolute, saying she would do it all over again.
"If I have offended anybody with this proclamation, I am woman enough to say I'm sorry. But 99 percent of the people I've talked to haven't been offended."
People such as Kenneth Becht, a Phoenix, Ariz., resident who saw her story on television. "If and when you run again for mayor," he said in a letter, "please contact me for a donation."
At first Risher was glad to talk to anyone; now she is more selective. She was expecting a call from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a show on Comedy Central, on Friday and wanted to feel out the situation before accepting an interview.
A Detroit radio station, whose Web site asks listeners to send in nude photos and decide which Russian bride is the "hottest" and should be brought to town, also called to talk.
"That was not a pleasant interview," Risher said. "I don't want to talk about it. They were punishing me for being a Christian, calling me a moron."
One person sent her a picture of an old lady extending her middle finger. "I wish they had given me a return address so I could thank them for the time they spent," Risher said.
She talks excitedly about the exposure but said it has made her humble. "I appreciate that God has used me to do this," Risher said.
"It is the start of something good. I'm going to encourage all elected officials to take a stand and see if we can get our nation back to God, where it is supposed to be."