The Anaheim City Council did not honor its commitment to the city’s LGBTQ community to fly the Gay Pride flag on Harvey Milk Day through the end of June at Tuesday’s City Council meeting and the blame falls squarely on Mayor Tom Tait and two members of his majority, and a staff member who provided Tait’s majority with cover.
From the Progressive Interfaith Council’s Facebook page, this message:
The Council failed to keep their promise to annually fly the LGBTQ Pride Flag in Friendship Plaza. The Council has betrayed us a community. We are heartbroken in the Council’s decision to not honor the promise they made to the (sic) us last year. It is an affront to the many members young and old of our LGBTQ community and the entire community who have put their trust in this Council. Our next step is not only to persist in our campaign to see that the LGBTQ Pride flag is flown as promised, in Friendship Plaza but also we will demand that the Council now develop a comprehensive plan to support the needs of our community.
Place the blame squarely on Mayor Tom Tait who was praised by LGBTQ activists for lending his vote to former Council member Jordan Brandman’s proposal last June for the city to honor the LGBTQ community last June in the wake of the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting. Tait’s “defense” on not flying the flag relied on his bigoted advocacy of “what is lawful.”
The city council failed not only failed to re-certify a historic precedent, which was already adopted in 2016, which wasn’t implemented due to staff error, but they failed to adopted anything due to a 3-3 vote (Lucille Kring was absent). Tait kept saying, “It’s against the law to fly the flag because of municipal code issues.” Tait seemed to suggest the flying of the gay pride flag was a 2016 one-time event not an annual one.
The Gay Pride flag is currently being draped in the entry way of Anaheim city hall, out of broad public view. That’s also technically unlawful because the council adopted no action last night. Tait, in remarks, mentioned he didn’t mean to vote for annual flying of the flag and only meant to vote the onetime flying in 2016. This is the same Mayor Tait who regularly admonished his council colleagues and staff for not reading contracts and agenda items fully. In fact, he implied he had been duped in 2016 which should tell you everything you need to know about how he feels about this issue.
The 2016 motion was very clear and was stated by city staff that the Pride flag was an annual occurance when Tait voted on it on June 21, 2016. For the Mayor to plead ignorance is a gross failure of his responsibilities and frankly political malfeasance towards a community that has shown him support. It’s hard to revise history when it’s on video.
It’s a flag. It’s not flying. What’s the harm? It’s harmful to every LGBTQ person who is waking up to FB POSTS and news stories about Anaheim going back on their word to fly the pride flag. Tait’s comments last night sound to me like a reemergence of the “Jim Crow” “law and order” arguments of the 1950s. Tait went so far as to speak against an alternative motion that would have flown the flag prominently on the City Hall building – -where the Anaheim Ducks flag flies now (hey, great season fellas; sorry you’re not in the Stanley Cup finals but maybe the Gay Pride flag can fly in your spot now). This promoted one Councilmember to note, “so we’re ok with telling LGBTQ members of our community that sports teams are more important than them?”
So where do things stand right now?
The council is deadlocked with Murray, Moreno, and Faessel wanting to fly the flag and Tait, Vanderbilt and Barnes opposed only wanting a display. While Kring was absent last night, she did, at the strong urging of them-Councilmember Brandman, voted in favor of flying the flag annually last year. She’s the tiebreaker on this for the June 6 meeting.
In the meantime, Tait and most members of his council majority have earned the scorn of the city and the county’s LGBTQ community.
So the Mayor follows the law which dictates which flags can be flown and he “hates ” gays for not flying the LGBTQ flag? What a stretch! Did you ask him if he hated gays or is that your exaggerated conclusion?
So much for Moreno’sability to sway Tait
He may also hate Daniels… dam those Daniels….
Anaheim Municipal Code
11.08.040 DISPLAY OF FLAGS ON THE ANAHEIM CIVIC CENTER FLAGPOLES.
It shall be unlawful for any person to display erect or affix any flag, banner or other display of any nature whatsoever to any flagpole owned and maintained by the City of Anaheim and located at either Anaheim City Hall, 200 South Anaheim Boulevard, or Anahem City Hall West, 201 So. Anaheim Boulevard, except:
.010 The flag of the United States;
.020 The flag of the State of California
.030 The flag of the City of Anaheim
.040 Any other flag officially recognized and designated as a national symbol by an Act of United States Congress, and the display of which has been expressly authorized by action of the Anaheim City Council. (Ord. 5631, May 19, 1998)
A motion by the council cannot override (or simply ignore) the Municipal Code by resolution. The proper way to implement this is by amending the Municipal Code, or enacting a separate ordinance that specifically provides for the flying of the flag. According to the Anaheim Municipal Code, this has not been done.
One would have to look at the original motion, but certainly the City Council should be aware of what is and what is not the passage of an ordinance. Who drafted the original motion?
Where was the Anaheim City Attorney during this conversation?