Will Gig Harbor fly the Pride flag at city hall? Council votes on new flag policy
The Gig Harbor City Council passed a new city flag display policy in a 5-2 vote Monday night, Sept. 11.
June 2024 will be the first time the Pride flag will fly on city property.
Before Monday, there was no policy for which flags may be flown on city property or when they could be flown.
Earlier this year, Council member Jeni Woock floated the idea of flying the Pride flag during the month of June.
Council member Brenda Lykins suggested city staff draft a resolution.
The council reviewed the proposed flag display policy (Resolution 1291) during the Sept. 11 council meeting and heard from the public before taking a vote.
Council members Woock, Lykins, Mary Barber, Roger Henderson and Julie Martin all voted in favor of the resolution. Council members Le Rodenberg and Seth Storset voted against it.
The resolution states:
- The Pride flag shall be displayed on a flagpole outside of the front doors of the Civic Center during the month of June, except that the Pride flag shall not be displayed on the same flagpole as the flag of the United States, unless no other flagpole is available.
- The Pride flag shall also be displayed on a stanchion in council chambers during the month of June.
- The specific Pride flag displayed by the city should be consistent with the Pride flag displayed at the State Capitol.
The resolution also addressed times and places that the United States flag, Washington state flag, National League of Families’ POW-MIA flag, The Puyallup Tribe of Indians flag, and flags of Gig Harbor’s sister cities can be flown on city property.
Here’s what council members had to say
Council member Woock told the Gateway she advocated for the flag to fly so that people know Gig Harbor is a safe place, and because of the city’s strategic plan goals.
Each resolution or ordinance the city votes on is supposed to further one of the six goals laid out in the two-year strategic plan. One of those goals is inclusiveness, Woock said.
“I’ve never walked a mile in their shoes, and I can’t imagine what it’s like to have people want you to go away or have people not see you,” she said. “I agree that if we can save a life, that’s a real good thing.”
She noted that September is Suicide Prevention Month. The council also had a proclamation Sept. 11 to declare the week of Sept. 10-16 as Suicide Prevention Week in Gig Harbor.
Council member Martin said at the meeting that she identifies with the LGBTQ community.
“I listened to every word,” she told the audience following the public comments. “Some of them hard to hear, but I didn’t shut myself off. To those who are LGBTQ, and I am one of them, we deserve liberty and justice.”
She told the Gateway that there’s a long way to go, and that the flag resolution is one step to help support a protected group.
Council member Lykins brought forward the first Pride resolution in 2022 to identify June as Pride month in the city.
The new flag policy “is an opportunity to embrace and welcome all in our community, no matter who they love or how they identify,” Lykins said at the meeting.
Council member Rodenberg said he agreed with public comments about finding other ways to recognize the LGBTQ community, instead.
“It’s my belief that we all want to make everyone welcome, however, in our over-exuberance to make a particular group feel welcome, we are alienating many other groups,” he said at the meeting. “The way to make one group feel welcome is not by offending other groups, or even the majority of others by telling them that this group is more important and is due more attention and reconciliation than they are. I believe the Pride flag does that.”
Asked by the Gateway about his vote, Rodenberg said via email: “I don’t have anything else to say, other than to thank all of the residents that engaged with the council and expressed their viewpoints. I was also very proud of the civility and professionalism of the City Council members in dealing with this controversial and emotional issue. Although my position was in the minority, I respect the decision of the council and I am ready to move on to other business the city has to deal with.”
Council member Storset said at the meeting that he agreed with Rodenberg that there are other ways to recognize the LGBTQ community.
“It’s been hard to hear such a divided community when all we want to do is have everyone get along and see each other for who they are,” Storset said. “Like this room, the council is divided.”
Storset did not respond to the Gateway’s request for comment.
Hundreds of emails, several hours of public comments
Over 30 residents and non-residents spoke at the meeting. The council also received over 360 emails, according to Council member Henderson.
Many at the meeting spoke in favor of flying the flag on city property, and many spoke against it. The majority of the comments were against the resolution.
“The city should not be advocating for any social movement or special group,” David Kuemerle said at the meeting. “By doing so, they aren’t staying neutral.”
“We should not be picking who gets a flag and who doesn’t,” Felicia Featherstone said at the meeting.
“Find another venue to explore displaying the flag,” Bonnie O’Malley said at the meeting. “Things on government property need to be government affiliated.”
“The Civic Center is the center of government,” Kent Howell said at the meeting. “Not a place to take one particular group and honor them above others.”
Many of those who spoke said they identified as LGBTQ or were parents to LGBTQ children. Some said they were teachers or retired teachers.
Douglas Urner told the council that flags are powerful symbols that show what we care about. He said he’s a retired high school teacher who hung Pride flags in his classroom. He saw looks of happiness and relief from students who saw the flags, he said.
Gregg Larson told the council: “Today more than ever it’s important the city of Gig Harbor advocate for these groups.”
Some residents said Pride flags and festivals signify a safe and welcoming place, and also play a part in suicide prevention.
Justice McCartney told the council they are a non-binary queer person who grew up in Gig Harbor.
“I almost died here by suicide in the second grade,” they said at the meeting. “l had been called gay slurs. At 7 years old, I didn’t see why I would want to keep going on if I would be ridiculed like that.”
They told the council they probably wouldn’t have felt that way if the Pride flag had been flying when they were younger, and that they wouldn’t have felt alone.
“Flying the Pride flag is a way in which we recognize the importance of this group of people who have not been treated fairly,” Mary Raine said at the meeting. “It tells them they are wanted, welcome and safe here. That flag might save the life of a child walking, biking, or driving by.”
What does the mayor say
Asked by the Gateway for comment about the flag policy, Mayor Tracie Markley referred a reporter to what she said at the meeting.
Markley told the audience that she did not have a vote when it came to the resolution, even if there had been a tie.
That would only happen if the council was passing an ordinance, not a resolution, she said.
If she did have a vote, she told the audience, she would have voted against the resolution. She said she has shared her opinions with the council about the resolution since June.
Markley said she believes she “was elected to represent all individuals in the city and to represent them impartially.”
She said she respects the decision the council made.
This story was originally published September 14, 2023 at 12:18 PM.
