As of press time at 11 p.m. Tuesday, the Key West City Commission had not begun its discussion of a pending franchise agreement with CityView Trolleys. Officials also had not discussed the second public reading of a general law that will govern all franchise agreements.

In other commission activity, officials voted to support Mayor Craig Cates' appointment to the board of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.

The County Commission has the final say about who will represent the Key West City Commission on the tourism board, and county officials meet today.

County Commissioner Heather Carruthers had nominated City Commissioner Teri Johnston to serve on the TDC board, but Tuesday evening, Johnston deferred to Cates, who said he was looking forward to serving.

The Key West mayor historically has been the City Commission's TDC representative.

Johnston said she would ask today that Carruthers remove her name from the nomination list, but pointed out that former Mayor Morgan McPherson had missed 10 of 31 TDC meetings.

She asked that Cates make the TDC a priority, to which he agreed.

The city commissioners also voted unanimously to urge President Barack Obama, along with other state and federal leaders, to eliminate the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military.

The move came at the suggestion of Commissioner Jimmy Weekley, and was supported by several Key West residents.

"This is a bad policy," said local attorney Wayne Larue Smith, who is gay and served in the Air Force without disclosing his sexual orientation. "There is a growing chorus of voices in Washington right now urging our leaders to end this policy and I urge you to join that chorus."

mbolen@keysnews.com