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San Ramon City Hall became the site of ongoing national and local debates over flying the LGBTQ+ Pride flag when three longtime critics of the City Council and one recently elected member expressed concerns over the city’s current policy and opposition to a resolution on the table last week to display the flag in June.
Although a majority of the council ultimately voted to display the flag this year and revisit the policy at a later date, the unexpected debate over an item that had been passed with little to no controversy over the past five years, and potential policy changes, sparked concerns from local LGBTQ+ advocates this week.
“When civic leaders question whether LGBTQIA+ people deserve recognition, it undermines years of progress and harms those already facing stigma,” said Anuradha Gupta, president of PFLAG Danville-San Ramon Valley in a press release Monday. “We call on all Councilmembers to lead with inclusion and to listen to the voices of marginalized residents who deserve this life-affirming recognition.”
That questioning kicked off during the public comment period of the April 14 city council meeting, in which former mayor Greg Carr, Citizens Against Market Place Apartment Development leader Susie Ferris-Inderkum, and a resident who identified herself by the name “Make San Ramon Great Again” voiced opposition to a resolution to fly the Pride flag in June.
That resolution was part of the council’s consent calendar, one item of a package that is typically voted on in a single motion, which has been standard since the city formalized its flag policy and practice five years ago.
“I’m concerned about flying flags for everything under the sun,” Carr said, going on to call for an “abeyance in putting flags up for different things.”
“I think we should only have three flags that are flying out there now,” he continued. “If there’s going to be a request of the council and that is on a flag for something – this one especially has both pro and con in our society concerning it – I think that needs to be put on new business and discussed in the open air to… hear the opinion of the five council members heard and then allow people both pro and con to speak on the flag.”
Carr and the other two speakers requested that the item be pulled from the consent calendar for further discussion, with councilmember Robert Jweinat later making the motion to do so before casting the lone vote against the resolution.
Ferris-Inderkum pointed to a federal policy signed into law in the early days of the current presidential administration prohibiting the Pride flag and most others besides the U.S. flag from being flown at embassies and state department properties, arguing that it applies to San Ramon City Hall as a “public building.”
“Should the council feel that the issue needs to be furthered, then it should be brought before the whole voting public via a new business item on a future agenda. “
After the item was pulled from the consent calendar and the discussion continued later in the meeting, City Attorney Martin Lysons clarified that the flag is not flown on the main city hall flagpoles — which display the city, state, and U.S. flags — but instead at a commemorative flagpole at Alcosta Boulevard and Bollinger Canyon. He added that there are “no federal statutes in place that have an effect on local jurisdictions, city halls, or public establishments.”
“So the city is free to adopt its own policy and fly the flag as its own city speech,” Lysons said.
While debates over flag policies have been hot topics locally and nationally, including in Dublin and the Sunol Glen Unified School District in recent years, the San Ramon City Council passed a resolution formalizing the practice of displaying the Progress Pride flag on a flagpole separate from those outside city hall and adopting a policy for commemorative flags in general in 2021 with little incident.
Although the council at the time debated some particularities while forming the permanent policy in 2021, there was widespread support for the overall concept of flying the flag, which the San Ramon and Danville councils had both opted to do for the first time in June 2020.
“This is not about (anything) political, this is about how a group of people residents in our city feel and I think we’re following the direction that they want us to take,” then-councilmember Dave Hudson said in 2020.
Under the policy adopted in 2021, the council opted to fly the flag on a separate commemorative flagpole, rather than the city flagpole at city hall, along with other commemorative flags at its discretion such as those for Earth Month and the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Jweinat asked that the council revisit the policy and expressed his opposition to flying flags other than those for the city, state, and country.
“I do see the Parks Make Life Better flag – I don’t think even that flag should fly,” Jweinat said. “I think only three flags should fly on city property, and those are the only three flags. Notwithstanding anything else, I don’t think there’s anything the city does that obstructs people’s freedom of speech.”
“We have no policy against renting out halls to people that want to celebrate Pride, celebrate Black History Month, celebrate whatever – we don’t have that policy,” he continued. “And we’re very grateful in (the) city to be able to have that open communication and openness. But I think when it comes to our civic responsibility and duties and public property, I think it should really be beholden to only just three flags.”
While the political and social landscapes have changed in the years since then, as has the makeup of the council, Mayor Mark Armstrong, Councilmember Sridhar Verose and Councilmember Richard Adler — who was appointed to the seat vacated by Armstrong after winning the mayoral race in 2024 — continued to voice support for flying the flag.
Adler noted that the discussion was familiar territory to him, having watched the same debate unfold at the Dublin City Council previously and heard numerous perspectives from all sides.
“But I really think the gay community has had a history of a lot of violence against them in the early days in New York, and it’s been a persecuted community,” Adler said. “I think what we are trying to do here is just say you’re welcome in our community. We’re not going out and giving speeches and everything, but we’re just saying we care about you as members in our community and we wish you the best, and we wish you love and respect.”
While the resolution to fly the Pride flag this year passed 3-1 at the end of the discussion, a majority of the council also agreed with Jweinat’s call to revisit the city’s commemorative flag policy at the policy committee and potentially in a future meeting with the full council.
“In past years we’ve approved flying the Pride flag as a statement of inclusion, that everybody in our community is seen, is respected, is welcome – that intent matters, and it matters in a meaningful way,” Armstrong said.
“But at the same time, I also recognize that some view this differently today, and we have concerns about where we draw the line with our commemorative flags,” he continued. “So the question that’s before us is really not just about one flag. To me it’s about consistency; it’s about how we uphold our policy while balancing inclusion with our responsibility to represent the entire community.”
It remains to be seen what, if any, changes might be proposed to the city’s commemorative flag policy and practice of flying the Pride flag in June in the years to come. However, PFLAG organizers called for supporters to emphasize the value of “visible civic recognition” such as the flag policy to the city government.
“Flying the Pride Flag is about safety and visibility for vulnerable community members,” said Mitchell Hopson, steering committee member for the San Ramon Valley Diversity Coalition in PFLAG’s press release this week. “We thank the three Councilmembers who voted to continue the tradition and urge ongoing, concrete support for LGBTQIA+ services and policies.”
Vice Mayor Marisol Rubio took to social media this week to add her voice in support of the group and the city’s LGBTQ+ community, and to urge opponents to get to know and understand its members.
“For those who spoke against raising the Progress Pride Flag, I ask you to re-examine your assumptions and motivations to prevent historically marginalized people from feeling safe and welcomed,” Rubio said in a statement Tuesday.
“In no way should the inability of few to understand the needs and rights of others prevent the City of San Ramon from demonstrating its commitment to continue to bring awareness and visibility to our LGBTQ+ community and to denounce hatred in all its forms by displaying the Progress Pride Flag,” she continued.
PFLAG is asking the full council to reaffirm its support for the city’s LGBTQ+ residents and engage in additional dialogue, and for Jweinat to “reconsider his ‘no’ vote and publicly express support on behalf of all of his constituents.”
Jweinat told DanvilleSanRamon Wednesday that his vote last week and concerns about the city’s flag policy were “not about being for or against any group.”
“I support and respect our LGBTQ community, just as I do all members of our city,” Jweinat said. “The issue here is about governance and getting the policy right. Our policy makes clear that when the City flies a flag, it is expressing the City’s official sentiment. At the same time, when flags are considered on a case-by-case basis, it can create difficult line-drawing issues and the perception that the City is choosing between viewpoints.”
Jweinat noted that when expressing an official sentiment from the city, “that deliberation matters,” and would not have occurred last week if the item hadn’t been pulled from the consent agenda.
“As the Supreme Court recognized in Shurtleff v. City of Boston, cities need to be clear about whether they are speaking as a government or opening the door to a range of viewpoints,” Jweinat said. “My goal is to ensure we have a policy that is clear, consistent, and applied evenly – and I’m open to refining it so it reflects that consistency going forward.”
Although any policy revisions are set to come following discussion by the council’s policy committee before coming to a regular meeting with the full governing body – which could take weeks or months – PFLAG organizers are asking supporters to voice their support for the flag and other recognition and inclusion efforts by the city government at the next council meeting on April 28.
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