This June is the last time the Pride flag will be raised in front of Morro Bay City Hall.
After a unanimous decision by the Morro Bay City Council, only the national, state, and city flags will fly before the city building. The council said it aims to represent the entire community, although the decision was made amid both local and federal tensions within and surrounding the LGBTQ-plus community. Members of San Luis Obispo County’s queer community urged the council to reconsider the change at its May 13 meeting, just weeks before the start of Pride Month.
“Local support matters and we deserve to be celebrated, even if it’s the bare minimum of flying flags at Pride Month,” one speaker, named Jen, told the council. “We aren’t going anywhere despite the attempts to erase us.”
Newly elected City Councilmember Jeff Eckles proposed the idea on April 22. Although he didn’t mention the Pride flag specifically, he suggested the city amend its current flag ordinance, which was established in 2022 allowing the city to fly commemorative flags, including a resolution that allowed the city to fly the Pride flag at City Hall during the month of June.
Eckles said the flagpole should stand for all groups and not be used for “political or cultural statements that divide the city.” The City Council unanimously agreed, passing the ordinance on May 13.
SLO County has been no stranger to division over LGBTQ-plus issues in recent years. Some cities faced public backlash for opting to fly the rainbow flag, while others came under fire for deciding to be more “neutral” when it comes to displaying or proclaiming certain interest groups.
Last June, the city of Atascadero refused to proclaim June as Pride Month—neither would it proclaim any month for any group. Current 5th District SLO County Supervisor Heather Moreno, who was the city’s mayor at the time, said it was an opportunity for the city to focus more on government services.
Arroyo Grande’s City Council was inundated with public comments against raising the Pride flag in June two years in a row but ultimately decided to keep it flying. Some area residents criticized the council, with two-time mayoral candidate Gaea Powell accusing the council of “engaging in an unethical deceptive tactic that manipulates the U.S. Supreme Court’s doctrine and should consider resigning.”
At Morro Bay’s May 13 meeting, Councilman Eckles addressed upset attendees but remained adamant that flying the three flags was “simple, neutral, and unifying.” He also addressed concerns about the timing of the proposal.
“I didn’t intend for the timing to be right before Pride Month,” he said, and offered the compromise of the new ordinance going into effect on July 1.
Chuckles from the audience caused Mayor Carla Wixom to ask for respect.
“You know it’s interesting, I am a public servant and someone said that public servants have a high call of honor and duty and that’s to listen to you,” Eckles said. “You can believe what we are saying or not, that’s your prerogative, but I can tell you I am speaking from the heart. I do believe this will unite the community. I believe that commemorative flags take us down a path of tribalism and separates the community further and further.”
Eckles promoted dialogue and said he had been accused of not answering emails.
“I know that I respond to every single email that I receive, … I’m proud of the fact that I have done that.”
New Times contacted Eckles for a statement, but did not receive a response before publication.
Despite public opposition, some agreed with Eckles and commended the ordinance’s ability to unify and represent all Morro Bay residents.
One speaker said she wasn’t sure if her opinion would be valued that evening, but she loved all people.
“I love gay people; I love Black people; I love soldiers who have died for us; I love autistic humans; I love humans with type 1 diabetes; I love Black people,” she said. “My point is, I believe that our American flag encompasses all of us, and like I said, my belief might not be popular, but I believe that that American flag shines for all of us. … If we exclusively fly one flag over another flag, then we are discounting that. It’s time for all of us to stand up and fly the American flag to … encompass everyone.”
Gala Pride and Diversity Center Program manager Linnea Valdivia said she did not view these flags as inclusive.
“A lot of people who opposed the [Pride] flag flying were very insistent that the three flags that Morro Bay currently flies—the American flag, the state flag, and the city flag—represent all people, and while I think that is a really noble idea, I don’t think that’s actually reflective of people’s ability to participate and see themselves reflected in how this country operates,” she said.
Among people of color, the queer community, immigrants, and Native Americans, Valdivia said they aren’t “represented or protected by those flags, and to fly commemorative flags to acknowledge folks that have historically had their rights not respected … doesn’t take from anybody.”
She also accused Eckles of dismissing the queer community’s concerns.
“Jeff hosted two town halls to talk about this issue. I attended the town hall, and he gave a pretty dismissive answer to my concern, saying that … ‘a City Council could elect to fly the Nazi flag, and we wouldn’t want that.’ And I was like, ‘Well, that seems like the worst-case scenario.'”
Valdivia said that Eckles didn’t name a specific reason why having the Pride flag would be a problem.
Despite the city’s decision, not flying a Pride flag over Morro Bay’s City Hall in 2026 won’t take away from what Pride truly means for the queer community, Valdivia said.
“This does not mean that Pride is over—Pride is not about rainbows and glitter. It is a prior protest, and Pride this year and every year since, is a celebration of all the progress that has been made for queer folks by queer folks in this country,” she said. “We’ve all seen How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the presents and the trees don’t make Christmas what it is—a rainbow flag does not make Pride what it is—and the celebration of our resilience, the celebration of our community, will still continue whether or not there is a flag flying over Morro Bay.” Δ
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 8, 2025.
I remember clearly, not long ago, that the LGBT whatever community only wanted to live their lives quietly, like everyone else, and fought for the same marriage precepts that others enjoyed (ignore the fact that was voted down by a large majority, but then upheld by a lesbian judge…).
Now, it’s fascism and he’ll on earth, because that same majority doesn’t want a divisive symbol flown over taxpayer funded buildings. Fly all the rainbows you want at your house, but do NOT demand I accept your lifestyle. Remember, you wanted to be quiet. Now, you scream.