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BUCKSPORT, Maine — A proposal to add the Pledge of Allegiance to start Town Council meetings was unanimously tabled by the regulatory review committee.
The committee voted 3-0 on May 14 to table a proposal offered by Councilor Teri Doty to add the recitation of the pledge to the meeting agenda ordinance. The pledge is not currently part of the council agenda.
Doty said she was asked why it wasn’t recited. “I thought it was a good idea, but I wanted to see what everyone thought,” Doty said.
Deputy Mayor Mark Eastman, who chairs the committee, said national politics has been kept from Bucksport meetings during his nine-year council tenure.
“I just worry that this will become divisive, as unfortunate as it is,” Eastman said.
“But it’s the American flag; it’s where we live,” Doty responded.
Eastman said that patriotism can be shown in many ways, including civic engagement, volunteerism and even paying taxes.
“We don’t want anyone to be left out,” Eastman said.
Hampden controversy
Eastman cited issues that arose when the Hampden Town Council voted in 2014 to add the pledge to start meetings.
According to news reports, two councilors voted against the measure, one citing council rules and the other stating the council should not have to stand and pledge allegiance.
Councilors Thomas Brann and William Shakespeare, both veterans, opted to sit during the pledge recital for several meetings. One meeting was recorded and posted to YouTube. The clip drew criticism from local and national sources before the councilors ultimately stood for the pledge alongside their colleagues.
“When people didn’t stand, it became a spectacle and I really don’t want to bring a spectacle in here,” Eastman said.
“Our job is roads, budgets, town business and I’d rather keep it to that,” he added.
Doty disagreed. “We want to show our patriotism to the flag and I don’t think it would be divisive,”
Councilor Edward Rankin Jr. said supported adding the pledge, but shared Eastman’s concern.
“If somebody on this council or a future council does not want to stand for it, they will be scrutinized, and then it will become an issue,” Rankin said. “And I don’t want to put anybody in that position.”
Other thoughts
Councilor Tracey Hair said she would be more supportive of a moment of silence instead of the pledge to be more inclusive. “I think patriotism is personal and people express it in different ways,” she said.
Resident Larry Wahl said the flag was in a prominent place in the council chambers just behind the table.
“I think that’s sufficient,” Wahl said.
Town Manager Jacob Gran explained that the committee could table the item or advance it for a full council vote at a later meeting.
Committee members Eastman, Paul Rabs and Jennifer Therrien voted to table the request.
