CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were tense vibes and words after what was supposed to be a vote passing a proclamation in support of Pride Month failed to happen during Tuesday's Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners meeting.
County Chair George Dunlap said the reason is because the proclamation wasn't submitted soon enough to be on the board's agenda to vote. Dunlap said the deadline is 11 days before the board meets.
Other commissioners, including Pat Cotham, pushed back against Dunlap's reasoning, saying that even though it wasn't submitted on time, it's too important of an issue not to be voted on.
"I am so tired of being politicized," Bethany Corrigan, board member of Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, said during the meeting. "Commissioner Jerrell, I agree with you. Your vote today does not validate or invalidate who I am, but it sends a message to your community. And the message will be that Pride Month was not important to you."
Some commissioners raised the point that other items have been submitted as last as the Friday before an upcoming meeting and still received a vote. But because proclamations must be approved by a unanimous vote, many people left visibly upset and disappointed after Dunlap and Elaine Powell voted against putting the proclamation on Tuesday's agenda.
An e-mail from county attorney Tyrone Wade to Commissioner Leigh Altman reiterated that an item can be added to an agenda at the meeting as long as it receives a unanimous vote, which Altman highlighted Tuesday night.
"We can unanimously vote and then we are fully in compliance with rules and procedures," Altman said.
Despite their votes, both Dunlap and Powell say they stand with the LGBTQ community, but not everyone is convinced.
"I was really disappointed," Jermaine Nakia Lee with Charlotte Black Pride said. "It was inappropriate." Nakia Lee noted that if the rules allow a vote, it should have been done.
"The president, the governor, Guilford, Wake, Buncombe, New Hanover, Durham ... all found ways to get a proclamation out in June for Pride Month," Cameron Pruette, director with the Freedom Center for Social Justice, said. "Why is that my county commission couldn't?"
VERIFY | Rules and Procedures surrounding Mecklenburg County proclamations
On Wednesday, WCNC Charlotte's Austin Walker spoke to Cotham about the proclamation, walking him through the timeline of events that led to Tuesday's vote. Cotham said even though the request for the proclamation was late, she and the county attorneys agree that the commissioners could have followed previously established regulations and passed the proclamation.
Holding the blocked proclamation in her hand on Wednesday, Cotham said it was not meant to be a reminder of progress, but a reminder of the challenges of unacceptance some in the community still face.
"I apologize to the LGBTQ community for this rejection," Cotham said. "I'm sorry, it should not have happened. They deserve better."
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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