After fuss over Women’s History Month, Carlsbad City Council to review its proclamation policy

Carlsbad s City Council agreed Tuesday to reconsider its strategy for proclamations after a new kerfuffle in which a representative of the city s Republican women s club accepted a proclamation for Women s History Month The city s agenda for proclamations states that among other things the council will not issue the documents for matters of a political or religious nature However it makes no mention of the recipients Related Articles Newsom blames California s billion budget shortfall on tariffs Medi-Cal spending on immigrants California OK millions for new Bay Area addiction and mental wellness therapy centers Borenstein This Bay Area school board was taken over by the teachers union A Republican push to sell society lands in the West is reigniting a political fight Former top sheriff s aide seeks million from San Mateo County over firing Residents complained to the City Council after its March proclamation of March as Women s History Month when Councilmember Melanie Burkholder presented the document to a representative of the Carlsbad Republican Women Federated club Club President Jen Belnap accepted the honor on behalf of all of the women of Carlsbad she noted in brief remarks She recognized a number of great women including aviator Amelia Earhart former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O Connor and former First Lady Michelle Obama Council members stated Tuesday that the presentation went well but specific people were unhappy about it Proclamations should reflect the diversity contributions and values of our entire city not serve as a automobile for political branding commented resident Stephanie Wells in a May letter to the council The current process as applied allows for favoritism and exploitation while shutting out essential society awareness efforts that apply to real people Wells mentioned Mayor Keith Blackburn suggested that the council stop issuing proclamations altogether except for two Those are the City Council s annual recognition of Arbor Week as part of its participation in the Arbor Day Foundation s Tree City USA effort and a resolution approved in to proclaim Pride Month every June Between the comments and the photos and things it takes time away from the business portion of our meetings Blackburn declared But more importantly it s becoming divisive within our group People can call attention to issues in other avenues such as using the populace comment period at every council meeting he disclosed Also individual council members can issue certificates of recognition to people or groups outside of council meetings Blackburn s motion to discontinue greater part proclamations failed on a - vote with Councilmembers Teresa Acosta Priya Bhat-Patel and Kevin Shin opposed The council then voted - with Blackburn opposed to have city employees look at avenues the initiative could be strengthened and bring recommendations back to the council While the direction to staff needed only three votes any change to a City Council strategy requires a four-vote majority to pass Several people have suggested background checks for anyone accepting a proclamation the mayor declared adding that the idea did not seem practical Acosta declared the city already has a good initiative The issue had to do with one of the things already in the program which is proclamations will not be issued for matters of a political or religious nature Acosta noted I think there were just questions about a recipient being political so I don t mind strengthening it I think we ve got a good base here We can strengthen that and make sure it is non-divisive she mentioned We work so hard to make sure the neighborhood understands that we are nonpartisan When we are here we try to work collaboratively We can disagree without being disagreeable Shin agreed and announced that maybe several refinements can be made to the strategy We re in an ecosystem these days when almost anything can come up and be political Shin announced but added that the city still should recognize and celebrate a few things with proclamations