Mr. Daniels,
Our local party decided to focus on one flag, the American Flag, that represents all people, this year at the county fair. This was discussed in the last three public meetings that were held to get this event off of the ground. There was no further discussion brought into the open floor session on this at our last meeting, held May 27th when the fair planning was finalized. The intention of this year’s presence at the fair was to be open to engagement with the public regarding our local party’s platform of being pro-choice, supporting equal rights, supporting gun reform, supporting livable wages for all, and protecting our environment—all within our new motto, Renewing Our Promise to You, Earn More, Live Better. The intention is to bring people together, not drive us further apart.
I was not aware that you had purchased the flag in question. Lots of people had controversial things to say about it last year, some of the responses from the public were downright hateful. Others told us that the flag was out of date. This did play into the decision to not put up the flag and lead to the decision to focus on one flag, the American Flag. Yes, a note was left by the Pride buttons that were offered to those that wanted to wear them in support of LGBTQ+ at our booth. Again, our intention was to represent everyone and create a space of positive engagement with the public.
Our party welcomes all, you are welcome to voice your opinions and beliefs. We are glad you have written this letter and hope to get more input from you in the future. Please reach out to me with your ideas for the county, we want to ensure they are represented. I can assure you that our party is committed to representing the entire community, and, despite not getting heaps of votes or wins, we are dedicated to helping and serving others to lift our county up.
Sincerely,
Joe Land
Chair
Shelby County Dems
