THE MENDOCINO COUNTY Board of Supervisors has approved flying the Pride flag at the administration office on Low Gap Road in Ukiah.
Supervisors Maureen Mulheren and John Haschak sponsored the proposal to fly the Pride flag at the administration office in recognition of June as Pride Month and to celebrate Mendocino County’s LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s important to recognize the diversity, and the strength in diversity, that we have in Mendocino County,” said Haschak in an interview. “We’re representing all the people of the county.”
Haschak said that while President Donald Trump’s administration has been fighting against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on a national scale, the local government wants to ensure that all people are equally represented here in Mendocino County.
“The federal government has been totally stripping away diversity, equity, and inclusion in our society,” Haschak added. “This is the county’s opportunity to show that we support diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
During the public comment period of last Tuesday’s board meeting, Kim Bancroft, a Willits resident and a teacher, editor, and writer, expressed just how crucial it is to represent the LGBTQ+ community of the county.
“For many varied reasons we exist. We are teachers, medical practitioners, builders … and maybe even supervisors in the past. We simply want to live in peace like everyone else,” Bancroft said. “This county to honor gay people in this way means that you are educating people around the country that you are not afraid to be our allies. You are bringing great pride to Mendocino County by flying the flag and acknowledging this history.”
The flag raising will take place at 9 a.m. at the Mendocino County Administration Center, 501 Low Gap Rd., Ukiah, on Monday, June 2.
This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.