Longview Pays to End Negotiations with Nugent

LONGVIEW (AP) — Longview paid $16,250 to end contract negotiations with controversial rocker Ted Nugent, who was under consideration as the headliner for Longview’s Fourth of July celebration. The payoff came after Nugent’s earlier comments and song lyrics became an issue during a campaign swing with Texas gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott. City spokesman Shawn Hara told the Longview News-Journal the controversy surrounding Nugent was just one factor that led the city to call off negotiations. The amount paid was about half Nugent’s performance fee. Mayor Jay Dean said Nugent’s act didn’t fit with the family-oriented program the city wanted. In January, Nugent called President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel.” The comments resurfaced when Nugent campaigned in February with Abbott, who said he did not endorse such language.