The Hollister City Council on March 20 approved a resolution to authorize the display of the LGBTQ+ Progress Pride Flag annually during the month of June at City Hall, as well as “specific actions to commemorate LGBTQ+ Pride Month,” in recognition of the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. The motion passed 4-1 with Councilmember Rick Perez dissenting.
The resolution’s passage is different from previous years when Councilmember Rolan Resendiz brought it to the council for approval. Going forward, the LGBTQ+ flag will automatically be scheduled to fly for the month of June. This is one reason Perez said he was hesitant to vote in favor. He wanted to know if the same protocol would apply to other flags, in particular the Christian flag, which he has brought to council for approval.
At Resendiz’s suggestion, in addition to setting a new precedent for flying the LGBTQ+ flag annually the resolution also establishes:
- The creation of City of Hollister logo that incorporates the LGBTQ+ Progress Pride Flag that can be printed on stickers for the public and local businesses and can be used by city staff in their email signatures
- Optional inclusion of preferred pronouns in city staff email signatures
- Creation of gender-neutral bathrooms for staff
- Providing inclusivity training for city staff
Resendiz quoted Harvey Milk, the San Francisco supervisor, the first openly gay public official in California, who was assassinated in November 1978: “All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.”
“Essentially, we’re at a point of history where we’re just asking for fair and equal treatment like everyone else,” Resendiz said. “It shouldn’t be a question of whether it’s conservative or liberal views. It’s just a question between what’s right and what’s wrong. We’re human beings. We’re citizens of this country. We deserve to be treated as such with the same respect, dignity, and liberty, just as everyone else.”
He thanked Hollister Police Chief Carlos Reynoso for coming up with the idea for the LGBTQ+ campaign and the other council members “for bringing forth Harvey Milk’s vision.”
Councilman Tim Burns said he was “100% in favor” of the resolution and combining the LGBTQ+ and city logos. He suggested the city “enlist the services of our art commission to take on that responsibility.” Councilmember Dolores Morales and Mayor Mia Casey also strongly supported the resolution.
Perez, though, was not so quick to support it.
“I got to think that our community is safe right now,” he said. “We have our challenges, like any other community, but you know, as far as I’m concerned everybody’s safe.”
When Perez said the change would go against the city’s flag policy he was told there is no policy.
David Mirroine, who was appointed interim city manager at the March 20 meeting following Brett Miller’s firing, told BenitoLink the flag policy that had been adopted June 3, 2021, was rescinded just four months later. The resolution to rescind the policy said “it did not have the desired outcome.”
The policy required 100 signatures as part of an application to request a flag being displayed at City Hall before the council could consider it.
Perez insisted there is a need for a policy because people who want to fly other flags ought to be treated the same.
Casey said she was concerned about incorporating the LGBTQ+ logo with the city’s logo.
“You’d undermine your brand or logo, but I think you could certainly create a sticker with the flag and the logo, and what’s maybe Hollister Pride,” she said. “As far as the suggestion for inclusivity training I support that but I think it’s not just an LGBTQ+ issue.
“And then lastly,” Casey continued, “is the language itself [in the resolution]. There was a phrase in there that I felt was out of place that says ‘whereas the city’s flag poles are not intended to be a form of free speech by the public.’ I’m not exactly sure why we would include that. I don’t think it’s relevant to flying the LGBTQ+ flag.”
That language was removed from the resolution.
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