Edmonds mayor reverses pride flag decision after public pushback

Published 10:18 am Wednesday, June 10, 2026

EDMONDS — After controversy regarding Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen’s decision not to fly an LGBTQ+ pride flag outside of City Hall, the flag was flying as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Last week, some Edmonds residents noticed that the pride flag was missing from City Hall. Since 2021, the city has flown the flag in June to recognize LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Last year, Mayor Mike Rosen made the decision to remove the flag holder on the City Hall building, he said in a statement Monday. The city declined to elaborate further on Rosen’s statement, including the date that the mayor decided to remove the holder.

“This decision was not intended to reflect support for or opposition to any particular group, organization, or cause,” he said Monday. “I recognize that people may disagree with that decision, and I respect those differences of opinion.”

Instead, Rosen said the decision stemmed from the larger question of whether cities should fly any commemorative flags. He cited legal challenges in other jurisdictions regarding government flag displays, “underscoring the importance of having a clear and consistent policy.” The city does not currently have a commemorative flag policy.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the council unanimously recommended that the mayor fly the pride flag for the month of June. By a vote of 5-2, the council also directed the city attorney to begin drafting an ordinance to fly the pride flag for the month of June. “Given the timeliness of the situation,” the mayor decided not to wait for the ordinance and directed staff to reinstall the flag mount Wednesday morning, city spokesperson Natasha Ryan said in an email.

The mayor will still move forward with City Council to create a policy to mitigate potential legal issues from flying commemorative flags, Ryan said Wednesday morning.

At Tuesday’s meeting, several community members expressed frustration with the mayor for deciding not to fly the flag.

“It’s really disappointing, and it has brought me such grief,” said Edmonds resident Alsia Soiset. “I just don’t understand. This is such a simple ask to celebrate people who are struggling to be seen and to be acknowledged that they deserve to exist and to live.”

A pride flag discussion was not originally on Tuesday’s agenda. Council President Pro Tem Jenna Nand added two discussion items to the agenda with support of the council.

“The community has spoken quite eloquently about the impact of having the pride flag removed during the month of June, and we want to make sure that all members of our community feel visible, acknowledged and loved,” Nand said.

Council President Michelle Dotsch and council member Vivian Olson voted against directing the city attorney to draft an ordinance, saying that they support flying the Pride flag but didn’t want to immediately spend money to involve the city attorney.

“I feel like it is something that we could handle initially internally in our council staff and myself, and I would be happy to bring back an agenda item with some research and things done without legal hours paid at this point in time,” Dotsch said.

In his Monday statement, Rosen said he asked the city’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Commission to provide policy recommendations to the city. The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Commission has been paused since 2024, when the city paused all commissions in response to its budget crisis.

Council member Chris Eck is the council liaison to the commission. In an interview Monday, she said while she was grateful for the opportunity for the commission to come back together and discuss the issue, she had concerns about the timing.

“We’re already on week two of the month,” Eck said. “… If we wait for our commission to put together a policy, it could take us until the end of the month to go through all the different parts of the process. I would like to see the flag put up now.”

City council members on Tuesday expressed support for the commission to provide input on a comprehensive policy.

Other than flags, Rosen said in his Monday statement the city has shown support for important causes by issuing proclamations and council resolutions, providing financial support and staff assistance, and partnering with community organizations. This year, Rosen said he initiated a Pride Month proclamation and directed city staff to place pride flags throughout downtown Edmonds. The flags will remain in place throughout the month.

“My decision should not be interpreted as a lack of support for LGBTQ+ residents,” Rosen said.

In 2024, the city decided not to fly a pride flag outside of City Hall, instead saying it would focus on supporting local community groups, according to a My Edmonds News report. After public pushback, the mayor reversed his decision and the pride flag was displayed at City Hall for the last four days of the month.

At the time, Rosen said he hoped to work with the City Council to review existing policies or create policies regarding flags and proclamations. The city declined to comment on the mayor’s previous statement.

Rosen did not expand on which legal challenges led to his initial decision to remove the flag holder. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the city of Boston had violated a resident’s First Amendment rights by refusing to fly a religious flag when city had flown various other flags at request of the public. Some Washington cities, including Bellingham, Lacey and Sequim, adopted flag policies following the ruling.

Last year, former Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell enacted a flag policy in response to a community request to fly a pride flag at a public park. The policy bans commemorative flags on flagpoles other than the pole outside of City Hall. Commemorative flags at City Hall must be authorized by the mayor.

Mountlake Terrace, which raised a pride flag at its City Hall last week, does not appear to have a commemorative flag policy.

In interviews Monday, Eck and council member Susan Paine said they weren’t aware of the mayor’s decision until community members began to raise concerns last week.

“It was a surprise,” Paine said. “… I don’t understand why this is an issue now. It is certainly something the community has grown to expect.”

Edmonds resident Leila Norako stressed the importance of the pride flag in the current political climate. More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills are currently in state legislatures throughout the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. As a professor at the University of Washington, she also mentioned the killing of Juniper Blessing, a 19-year-old transgender student at the university.

“This is the climate that we’re all existing in right now that we are having to navigate, and all we are asking for is a flag that we have had to fight tooth and nail to get the city to put up,” she said.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.