SLO County city to stop flying Pride flag despite outcry
A debate over what flags can fly over city government buildings in Morro Bay came to a head at a packed meeting on Tuesday evening.
City Councilmember Jeff Eckles kicked off the effort to restrict flags to only the city, state and United States flags at the April 22 City Council meeting, where he asked city staff to present the council with a new flagpole ordinance.
The move proposed eliminating the flying of commemorative flags by repealing the city’s flagpole policy enacted in November 2022, which includes the Pride flag, POW/MIA flag and others.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council voted 5-0 to repeal the previous flagpole ordinance effective July 1 — immediately after the conclusion of Pride Month — despite outcry from members of the public at the packed meeting.
“I acknowledge that the timing looks suspect,” Eckles said, drawing laughs from the audience
“I can tell you that this started several months ago,” Eckles continued. “I didn’t intend for the timing to be right before the start of Pride month.”
‘Tribalism’ or inclusion? City Council debates flag policy
Eckles said he proposed repealing the 2022 flagpole ordinance to avoid the appearance of flying flags that don’t represent everyone in the community equally, something he said leads to “tribalism.”
Reading a statement he previously delivered at the April 22 City Council meeting, Eckles said the United States, California and Morro Bay flags were unifying symbols, calling the flying of commemorative flags such as the Pride flag a “gross overreach of local government.”
“Our flagpole is a symbol of unity, not a platform for expressing selective viewpoints,” Eckles said. “When we choose to fly one group’s flag over another’s, we are inevitably excluding some members of our community.”
During public comment, many commenters expressed frustration that the policy change was left on the consent agenda, rather than scheduled for a full public hearing.
The City Council then elected to pull it from the consent agenda with the modification of putting the repeal into effect July 1, meaning the city can still fly Pride flags this year.
While several members of the public spoke in support of the council’s decision, echoing Eckles’ statements about the potential divisiveness of commemorative flags, the majority of commenters opposed the policy change.
Despite Eckles’ comments on timing, the majority of commenters said making the change now sends the wrong message to members of the LGBTQ+ community within and outside of Morro Bay.
Jennifer Fields, who works in Morro Bay, said the policy change feels like a “direct erasure” of the city’s queer population.
“As a member of the queer community and ally, seeing the Pride flag anywhere, especially during Pride month, makes me feel welcomed and more comfortable in the space,” Fields said. “The symbol is an important one, especially during the attacks against queer and trans rights and lives at the federal level. Local support matters, and we deserve to be celebrated, even if it’s the bare minimum like Pride flags during Pride month.”
Longtime Morro Bay resident John Nowel said he saw the issue along the lines of what former President George H.W. Bush said at the 1988 Republican National Convention, where he expressed hope for a “kinder, gentler nation.”
“Bush envisioned our nation as a force for good, both at home and abroad, and used this phrase to convey his desire for a more compassionate and unified nation,” Nowel said. “Let’s be a more compassionate and unified city — let’s fly the Pride flag.”
The father of the trans student athlete at Arroyo Grande High School who has faced backlash for her participation on the girls track team and usage of girls locker rooms in recent weeks also appeared at the meeting.
Introducing himself as “your neighbor from the south,” the father said symbols like flying the Pride flag send an important message to marginalized people.
“Flying the flag allows kids that don’t have a supportive home to realize that there is support out there,” he said.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM.
