I’m getting better at this Party Resolution thing. My second resolution called on the city of Anaheim to honor the promise the city council made in June 2016 to fly the Gay Pride flag on Harvey Milk Day (May 22) through the end of Pride Month (June) which the city failed to do this year opting to place the banner on the side of City Hall where the “Let’s Go Duck’s” banner was for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But why stop there? Every city government and county office where flags are flying ought to fly the Rainbow colors too. Here’s the text of the resolution the Democratic Party of Orange County voted on at the June meeting:
RESOLUTION CALLING ON ANAHEIM AND LOCAL ORANGE COUNTY CITIES AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO FLY THE THE LGBTQ PRIDE FLAG FROM HARVEY MILK DAY THROUGH PRIDE MONTH
WHEREAS on June 21, 2016, the Anaheim City Council unanimously approved a measure by then-Council Member Jordan Brandman, the only openly gay council member, to fly the LGBTQ Pride flag on the City Hall Flag Pole annually beginning on state-recognized Harvey Milk Day (May 22) through the end of June during Pride Month as both a response to the mass shooting at a LGBTQ-friendly nightclub in Orlando and to demonstrate that Anaheim is a city of kindness for the LGBTQ community; and
WHEREAS on May 22, 2017, the City of Anaheim failed to fly the LGBTQ Pride flag due to unresolved city code issues resulting in the flag alternatively displayed in the entryway to City Hall with limited visibility; and
WHEREAS the failure of the city to honor the previously passed resolution and correct city code issues is an insult to the LGBTQ community and those who support full equality;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Orange County calls on the Anaheim City Council to uphold their June 2016 pledge to fly the LGBTQ Pride Flag at City Hall annually from Harvey Milk Day through June Pride Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Orange County calls on every city and county government office in Orange County to fly the LGBTQ Pride flag from Harvey Milk Day through month of June every year to honor the county’s LGBTQ community and those who support equality in every form.
Respectfully submitted on June 6, 2017 by: Jeff LeTourneau, Carina Franck-Pantone, Anita Narayana, Diana Lee Carey, Michael Fox, Tony Bedolla, Dan Chmielewski
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait was showing his conservative Republican side fought against the promise made by the council in June 2016, citing city law. At the June 6 council meeting, Tait’s anti-LGBTQ position was folded into a general pitch about any other flags.
From the Register: “I’m drawing the line with flying the flag in front of City Hall,” said Mayor Tom Tait, who was against flying or displaying any kind of flag except the three allowed in front of City Hall. “I do not believe that any other flags should fly in front with the governmental flags.”
There was a code issue associated with the June 2016 measure that was supposed to have been cleaned up in January, a full month after the Tait majority took office, but it didn’t happen. The simple solution for Anaheim? Follow Santa Ana’s lead and have another flagpole built to accommodate community flags upon a vote of the council. Imagine flags showing support for breast cancer survivors, domestic abuse awareness, education, even support for the Angels or Ducks during the playoffs. Cost estimates range from $7,500 to $10,000.
There was little debate over the issue at the Party meeting which passed with everyone’s vote save one abstention — Greg Diamond. The OJ blogger mirrored Lucille Kring’s argument that other group’s would demand their flag-time suggesting that a White Power Group might want to fly their flag or a Pro-Israel or Pro-Palestinian group would demand to fly the flag. That’s why there’s a city council to decide who gets to fly a flag or not. Cynics at the meeting who thanked me for the resolution suggested Diamond would never support any resolution I drafted regardless of the subject it was. It certainly appears so. But was Diamond’s abstention a reaction to the fact I drafted the original resolution, his continued enthusiastic support of Anaheim mayor Tom Tait, or an underlying anti-LGBTQ sentiment?
Diamond hates gays. Or he would have voted for it. Dick.
I thank providence every day I’m in the local blogosphere that I am not Greg Diamond or Vern Nelson. I’m sure that they’ll, as a tit-for-tat, write the same about me — but they have lousy judgment so that doesn’t matter.
They both constantly praise Tom Tait even when he disregardes Anaheim’s LGBTQ community but both are failures as fathers and professionals. Diamond’s daughter is active duty, not a “veteran” as he states. Anyone familiar with the military would get that. Neither of them are in a financial position to help their children by birth or by marriage. Nor are their friends. Nelson plays organ in church while being an agnostic. That’s called being a shill for money.
As far as judgement goes, I’ll take my record over theirs any day. The difference comes to loyalty to friends which neither of them have. As evidenced by the piss poor contributions to Nelson’s son’s legal defense.
I take heart knowing if I were in any sort of trouble, I have friends who will support me. I think both men are failures as fathers and husbands and as professionals. I am glad they can count on six people to comment on their blog regularly. During the DPOC meeting, while Greg was speaking, the Committee Member sitting next to me mouthed the words “Asshole” while Greg spoke. I introduced myself and offered a fistbump. Seemed right at the time.
All said, enjoy your closeted blog fellas where no criticism sees the light of day. You both have little influence and no money to make a difference in any race for office that matters.
I suspect that’s not the reason
Was this was the same meeting where Henry ” Paul” Lipton joked he’d walk for TRUMP if he supported legislation to mandate “Four GRAM Eighths”.
Is this who we want representing Dem’s?
Glad to see Paul made it back from his vacation in one piece
Avelino Valencia also abstained on the motion, Dan. Any thoughts on his motivations for doing so?
My information from the party is there was one abstention. I’m unaware of others
From Mr. Diamond: “I voted to abstain because it was a half-basked bit of pandering by “summer soldiers” in the war for LGBT rights that would likely have been improved by another month’s gestation. Now, the fact that it was a half-baked bit of pandering may very well have had something to do with Chumley’s participation in the project — but I would have had the exact same reaction has his name not been at the tail-end of the author’s list.”
I take offense to the summer soldiers term and those in the party who voted for this ought to take offense. I don’t track how many years I’ve supported gay rights but I’ve certainly written enough on the topic that my views are well know. When I submitted the resolution to the Party, Jeff Letourneau sent me a nice note to let me know I saved him the time of writing a resolution on this.
Greg likes to talk about my alleged contempt for the poor; volunteering and making financial contributions to a number of charities that benefit the poor that my family and I do are a lot less contemptuous of the poor than his just blogging about it.
Greg, you can always buy a mattress for the kids at Eli Home like I do every year. Why don’t you? Or would you rather make fun of me for doing so?
Jeff should be censured for his words. His pitiful self defense to Gustavo SCREAMED:
” I have earned the right to hate. I have earned the right to make stupid bigoted comments”.
What an asshole.