Will Surfside raise Pride flag after all? Commissioners say they support it

After backlash to Surfside’s decision not to raise the LGBTQ flag for Pride month in June, a majority of town commissioners say they would support flying the flag on town grounds this year and in the future.

A protest is planned for Tuesday and some local residents had circulated a petition which gathered hundreds of signatures after the town announced earlier this month it would not raise the Pride flag, citing the lack of a policy.

Four of the five commissioners, with the exception of Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, told the Miami Herald they would support raising the rainbow-colored flag, which was flown across the street from Town Hall for the first time last year after a request from former Vice Mayor Tina Paul.

The flag issue is scheduled to be discussed at a July 12 meeting and it’s unclear if the commissioners can direct the town administration to raise the flag without a formal vote. The town did not respond to questions about its decision or whether an informal request can be made by the commissioners.

Commissioner Marianne Meischeid said she emailed Town Manager Andy Hyatt on Monday asking that the Pride flag be flown Tuesday morning. She said Hyatt told her the town has a flag available.

“I support putting up the Pride flag this month,” she told the Herald. “Unfortunately there wasn’t a policy in place and I feel like the current commission was put on the spot without enough time to set a policy, which should have been done last year.”

Danzinger, who supported the town’s decision not to fly the Pride flag, said Monday that he is concerned allowing it could lead to other groups asking that Surfside fly their flags if the town accepts the resident-led request on this one.

“I think flagpoles should be left for government flags,” Danzinger said.

He said the Pride flag wasn’t flown anywhere in town prior to last year, and argued that some residents are trying to create division and conflict in town. Local politicians, he said, should stick to government issues such as managing the town budget and addressing traffic. He said neighboring Bal Harbour and Bay Harbor Islands are not flying the Pride flag. Other areas such as Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County are.

“You don’t get to be an activist when you’re a public servant,” he said.

Commissioners Fred Landsman and Nelly Velasquez told the Herald they support putting the flag up, even if for a couple of days. Vice Mayor Jeff Rose, who signed the resident petition urging the town to fly the flag, said he also supports displaying the flag and would propose creating a Pride flag policy for future years.

The flag issue was first raised publicly at a June 14 commission meeting, but a resident started asking questions about it in May. Meischeid and other commissioners said the town did not advise them of the issue.

“There was perhaps a lack of awareness,” Landsman said.

Surfside’s Town Attorney Lillian Arango issued a statement Monday saying her office recommends that the town administration or commission create a flag policy. Traditionally, she said, the town’s flag poles have displayed government flags.

“Based on case law and the lessons learned therein, we had preliminary discussions with the Town Administration and some elected officials and would recommend that the Town Administration or Town Commission make a deliberate policy decision as to whether the Town wishes to fly flags with other messages on its flagpoles,” she wrote.

Former Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer is helping to organize a protest outside Town Hall on Tuesday for the Pride flag issue and an unrelated concern about expanding the use of chairs on public beaches.

Surfside resident Charu al-Sahli, who created the Pride flag petition that has amassed 400 signatures, said she wanted to show the town how many residents care about the Pride issue after Danzinger said he only heard from a couple of them initially.

She said she plans to show up to Tuesday’s meeting in rainbow colors and hopes resident turnout will galvanize the town to fly the flag. “I just feel like it’s a really important visual symbol that everyone’s welcome and it’s how we show up for each other as a community,” she said.

There is a special commission meeting Tuesday evening on beach chairs and parking rates, but the flag issue is not scheduled to be discussed. Landsman said he asked whether he could discuss the Pride flag at the meeting but was told by the town clerk he could not.

If it’s not possible to raise the flag in June, Landsman said he would want to display it in July and then create a policy to raise the flag every June going forward.

“I know it’s not as appropriate, June is the month that makes sense. But at the same time I am supportive and maybe we can do our own thing and show support, even in a later month,” Landsman said.