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The San Ramon City Council Policy Committee is set to resume discussions over the city’s commemorative flag policy at a special meeting Wednesday following opposition to a resolution to raise the LGBTQ+ Pride flag in June, then an outpouring of support for the current policy last week.
The move comes after a majority of the council voted to approve the resolution that was on the agenda at its April 14 meeting amid criticism from three public commenters and a dissenting vote from District 1 Council member Robert Jweinat, along with an agreement to review the flag policy at a later date.
That date was set for this week at a special policy committee meeting on the topic, which was announced by the city Friday.
While there were no items related to the flag raising or overarching policy at last week’s city council meeting, more than 20 people spoke during the non-agenda public comment portion of the meeting voicing concerns about the previous council meeting, the pending policy review, and expressing support for the city’s current practice.
“The rainbow flag represents inclusion as opposed to exclusion of a broad array of public interests, not just the LGBT community,” said Robert Hixon, an emeritus board member of PFLAG Danville/San Ramon Valley who first joined the group alongside his wife 25 years ago. “Minority interest recognition allows a community to adapt to changing interests over time, and for an ability to remain relevant and vibrant.”
Hixon and a number of other speakers at the April 28 meeting pointed to city officials’ ongoing commitment to the slogan “Everyone is Welcome Here,” unveiled in signs and messaging throughout the San Ramon Valley as part of a campaign that earned Dougherty Valley High School teacher Kelsey Wegnel the Educator of the Year Award from the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce in 2019.
That campaign and slogan preceded the beginning of the annual tradition of raising the LGBTQ+ Pride flag in June in the San Ramon Valley, with San Ramon and Danville both first doing so outside their government offices in 2020, before adopting permanent policies to fly the flag on separate, commemorative flagpoles.
Speakers at last week’s meeting emphasized that despite the small scope of these changes, the message has been heard and appreciated, and it’s one that many want to see continue.
“Symbols matter – they signal who’s welcome and valued in our public space,” Planning Commissioner Santhosh Kanjula said last week. “By flying this flag, the city is not creating any public forum for individual expression, but rather exercising its voice to affirm that we are a community that celebrates diversity and stands against historical exclusion of LGBTQ residents, or any other minority sections of our community.”
While a majority of commenters also expressed gratitude for the council majority vote to continue flying the flag this year, Jweinat’s dissenting vote at the previous meeting had raised concerns and scrutiny for many.
Allison Gardiner, a teacher at DVHS, sought to drive home a lesson to Jweinat by asking for the pronunciation of his last name at the start of her remarks.
“I wanted to honor you by pronouncing it correctly,” Gardiner said. “Honor – honoring names – these acts are simple but can be profoundly impactful. I honestly came here to thank you for speaking up for minority voices. When my friends and I asked this jurisdiction to fly a symbol that marks support of our existence, it’s an uphill battle for an invisible minority.”
Although critiques of the flag, the LGBTQ+ community, and the city’s policies were absent from last week’s public comment period, Mitchell Hopson, a member of the San Ramon Valley Diversity Coalition, responded to points that had been raised at the previous meeting.
“As a person who wants to support my residents and my neighbors, I think the Pride flag is an important symbol to show,” Hopson said. “If I saw a noose, a swastika, or a white robe it would make me feel very uncomfortable. So I can imagine that if I were a parent of an LGBTQ child or if I were myself, and I saw the Pride flag it would bring me joy. It would make me think why San Ramon is special, why it makes sense to be here. But I think it is up to us as citizens and you as the council to promote symbols that make people feel positive and make people want to come here.”
Although the council was not able to respond to comments on non-agendized topics last week, Mayor Mark Armstrong thanked the community for input and sought to affirm the city’s commitment to making all residents feel welcome.
“We are committed that San Ramon is a very diverse and welcoming community,” Armstrong said. “Everyone is welcome here – that’s our slogan – and we’ll continue to uphold that.”
The flag policy review is the sole item on the agenda for the upcoming policy committee meeting, scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday (May 6). Any changes that are determined by the committee would come to a regular council meeting in the future for a vote by the full city council.
