Council may step in with proclamation on gay pride event

The leaders of the City Council say they’re willing to issue a proclamation in support of a gay pride celebration in Colorado Springs next month even if Mayor Steve Bach won’t.

“I want to encourage diversity,” council President Scott Hente said Wednesday. “I want to encourage a feeling of welcomeness for everybody within Colorado Springs.”

Scott and President Pro Tem Jan Martin say they’re reaching out to their colleagues to determine whether they support a proclamation for PrideFest, an annual celebration for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and its supporters.

“I have had a discussion with the City Attorney’s Office to say, ‘If we are going to issue a proclamation only from council, under our new form of government, what’s the right way to do it?’” Hente said. “I just want to make sure we’re doing it correctly.”

(Should the City Council issue a PrideFest proclamation? Vote in poll.)

Before he was elected, Bach made it clear he wouldn’t issue such a proclamation.

But the Colorado Springs Pride Center asked anyway.

On June 23, Bach rejected the request.

“My priorities are to transform our city government so that it works for everyone again and lead the charge to facilitate job creation for our citizens,” the mayor wrote in a letter to Charles Irwin, the center’s executive director.

“Therefore, I will not be signing proclamations such as you requested,” he wrote.

Bach’s decision drew sharp criticism.

“He says in quotes that you see all over the Internet, and I believe in his speech that day when he was inaugurated, he said, ‘We’re going to work together, and we’re going to fix this city together,’” Irwin said.

“Together means, to me, everybody,” Irwin said. “He has already set the precedent that he’s excluding a large portion of the community.”

Hente said he gives Bach credit for honoring his campaign commitment. But he doesn’t agree with the mayor’s stance not to issue the proclamation.

“I didn’t agree with him when he said it during the campaign either,” Hente said.

Martin said she respected the mayor’s decision.

“I’m elected as an at-large City Council person, which means I represent the whole city,” Martin said. “That includes all of the members of the community, and I don’t distinguish between one and another.”

As mayor, Bach represents the entire city, too, but Martin said she didn’t want to criticize the mayor.

“During his campaign, he made it clear that he didn’t intend to sign a proclamation,” she said. “I think that’s fine. My advice to him was, ‘You either sign them all or you don’t sign any.’ The problem arises when you begin to pick and choose.”

PrideFest, which is celebrating its 21st year, is July 16-17. The downtown event draws thousands of people annually.