Is Gig Harbor a welcoming city? Here’s what more than 300 locals told leaders
In 2018, the Gig Harbor City Council proclaimed its commitment to making Gig Harbor “a welcoming city.”
Seven years later, the city wants to know whether it’s doing enough to keep that commitment.
The city asked residents in the Gig Harbor area whether they felt the city is doing enough to welcome people of all cultures and backgrounds in a survey launched at the end of February. The results, presented to the Gig Harbor City Council at a study session Aug. 14, suggest that many are happy with the city’s embrace of local cultural and community events, but that clear divisions exist on the city’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.
While the responses don’t reflect “a scientifically valid sample,” the 342 responses still provide valuable data for the city, the presentation noted. The results come a little over a year after the formation of the Mayor’s Ad Hoc Committee on Community Diversity and Engagement, tasked with fostering an inclusive environment in the community amid reports of alleged prejudice and bullying in local schools in recent months.
Gig Harbor Mayor Mary Barber said in an interview with The News Tribune that survey results suggest the city is doing “a pretty good job” creating a welcoming environment, until you “start looking at people who might be different than us, people in different ethnic groups, people of different religions, that kind of thing. And that’s where we see the need for growth.”
The volunteer committee designed and conducted the survey and analyzed the results, Barber said. No city funds were spent on the survey.
The aim of the survey was to collect data to guide the committee’s future work, since “there really was no data for this committee on community diversity and engagement to look at,” retired psychology professor and committee member Claudia Lampman told the council Aug. 14.
“ ... the survey was just sort of a starting point to see where things are going well in our community and where there might be some areas for improvement,” Lampman said.
The survey launched Feb. 28 and remained open for one month, the Aug. 14 presentation said. The city posted about the survey in its Gig-a-Byte newsletter and on the city’s Facebook page, and Mayor Barber said committee members were also encouraged to distribute the survey. Surveys like this typically “overrepresent people who care a lot about the issue the survey is asking about, usually in both directions,” Lampman said.
Among the survey’s findings were:
- Two-thirds or more of the respondents said they “somewhat” or “strongly agree” that “the community of Gig Harbor is doing enough to create a welcoming city” through local government actions, community organizations, nonprofit organizations and local businesses, while nearly a third said they somewhat or strongly disagreed.
- A clear majority said they agreed the community is doing enough to welcome people through events, with 45% of respondents saying they “strongly” agree with this statement.
- Responses tended to show more negativity for questions about the city’s treatment of specific communities: 42% to 57% of respondents somewhat or strongly disagreed that the community is doing enough to welcome “people of all cultures and heritages,” “all faiths and religions,“ “the LGBTQIA2S+ community” and “BIPOC or ethnic minorities.”
- 23% of respondents strongly disagreed that the community is doing enough to welcome the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and 31% reported the same for BIPOC or ethnic minorities.
The survey also included an open-ended question: “What can the city do to make Gig Harbor a more welcoming and friendly place for all residents and visitors?”
- 59 responses were related to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or promoting tolerance and inclusion, while 40 responses advocated for shifting “focus away from DEI initiatives.”
- 47 responses identified a need to provide “more inclusive, multicultural and ethnic events” and to better publicize events.
- 36 responses suggested improving “city safety, beautification, infrastructure, parking,” and traffic.
Other themes across responses included supporting public declarations against racism and intolerance, diversifying the city council and addressing bullying in schools, as well as the sentiment that “Gig Harbor is already welcoming” and opposition to the Pride flag.
Lampman highlighted the divide in responses.
“I would say the open-ended comments particularly reflect the deep divide that our nation is experiencing when it comes to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, and I think really fell very strongly in both camps,” Lampman told the council. “There was no ‘somewhats’ in the comments.”
Due to time constraints at the council meeting Aug. 14, the city council will discuss the results further at its Oct. 16 study session, Barber wrote in an email Friday. The city council welcomes public comment at its study sessions, she said.
“I am really looking forward to hearing council’s discussion on it, and too, knowing what they believe we should do,” she said.
One possibility she sees is hosting more events to bring specific communities “more into the mainstream.” Barber highlighted several events that have already occurred in the city: an annual Chuseok Korean festival via the Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Gig Harbor Pride in the Park and the lighting of a menorah at Skansie Brothers Park. The community also celebrated Croatia Day in May with performances and booths to commemorate the city’s ties to Croatia.
She emphasized that she doesn’t “want to get too far ahead of council,” and that any plans would also need to take into account the existing workload of city staff.
Barber’s view is that the community is “doing a pretty good job already,” but that she wants to see more acts of kindness out in the community.
“I just think we need to do a better job with people we don’t know,” she said. “We need to expand our circles a little bit more.”
