Lacey City Council approves amended sponsorship policy in wake of Chick-fil-A outcry
Lacey City Council approved an amended corporate sponsorship policy on Thursday, one that puts potential sponsors through an evaluation process that includes asking them to complete a questionnaire.
The city decided to make changes to the policy after residents raised concerns about Chick-fil-A’s sponsorship of a recent Children’s Day event at Huntamer Park.
Resident Meghan Hall told the council in October that Chick-fil-A has a long history of advocating against the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. That advocacy includes donations and statements made by executives.
“The name is synonymous with corporations that oppose equal rights for LGBTQ people,” she said.
Council member Lenny Greenstein said Thursday he supports the amended policy, but asked specifically if it would prevent Chick-fil-A from becoming a sponsor.
Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong said the amended policy is a tool for the city and staff, but It “doesn’t expressly exclude anybody from going through the process.”
“It’s really impossible to speculate on a hypothetical application at this point,” Kelley-Fong said.
The Olympian asked the same question of Jen Burbidge, the city’s parks, recreation and culture director, which puts on Children’s Day. She also didn’t specifically address Chick-fil-A.
“If adopted, the policy would establish a more comprehensive and standardized evaluation process for reviewing potential future sponsors based on the eligibility and advertising criteria found in the policy,” she said in an email. “Per the policy, all interested persons would need to submit a sponsorship questionnaire to be evaluated under the policy before the sponsorship would be approved.”
Council member Ed Kunkel wanted to know if the council be made aware of it if a sponsor is rejected. Kelley-Fong said the policy “doesn’t necessarily state that any denial would come before the council.”
That gave some council members momentary heartburn.
“Not sure how that sits with me,” Mayor Andy Ryder said.
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller raised the prospect of creating an appeals process for rejected sponsors, but City Attorney Dave Schneider pointed out the possibility of residents appealing sponsors approved by the city.
The council finally agreed to approve the amended policy as is, leaving the door open to making other changes down the road.
“If it’s not working, we will address it,” Ryder said.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
