A city councilwoman in the state of Washington suggested that the LGBTQ pride flag should replace the American flag in one of her city's public parks because it is 'more relatable'.
Since 2025, Isabel Mata has been a progressive member on the city council in Lynnwood, a small city about 17 miles north of Seattle. She describes herself as 'a queer, neurodivergent writer, advocate, and mindfulness meditation teacher'.
During Monday's council meeting, Mata made her comments about the pride flag following a lengthy discussion about amending Lynnwood's policy on how to decide which flags are flown at Wilcox Park, known affectionately by locals as 'Flag Park'.
'To me, a pride flag is way more relatable than an American flag. I would not raise an American flag at my house because I just wouldn’t. I wasn’t even born here. But I would raise a pride flag,' Mata said.
'And as the most diverse city in all of Snohomish County, I don’t think that I’m the only one who would maybe choose to have 27 other flags in Flag Park.'
The United States has had 27 official flags since 1777. As the country expanded westward, the executive branch gradually added more stars to the flag to represent newly incorporated states.
The current 50-star flag has been around since July 4, 1960, the year after Hawaii became a state.
And two years later, in 1962, Lynnwood created Wilcox Park, which now displays all 27 flags. Mata implied that because the US has had what could be considered dark periods in its history, perhaps these flags should not be flown.
Isabel Mata, a city councilwoman in Lynnwood, Washington, said this week during a council meeting that the LGTBQ pride flag is 'more relatable' than the American flag
She also suggested that the pride flag, and other commemorative flags, should be displayed instead of certain versions of the American flag at Lynnwood's public parks
'Does this park represent the values that were here in the 1960s when they established this park?' she said. 'Do we hold those same values now, and are they representative of the Lynnwood as we see it today?'
'Because if we’re having this issue of we have so many things that we want to represent, this community is filled with so many beautiful cultures and diverse backgrounds and all of these things, yet we have 27 iterations of the same flag, some representing parts of American history that, frankly, are not great,' she added.
Conservatives harshly criticized Mata for saying this - especially since this year is America's 250th anniversary as a nation.
'Whatever arguments someone wants to make about American history, there is something genuinely troubling about an elected official using the semiquincentennial year to propose clearing away the flags in a park built specifically to honor them,' said Jason Rantz, a radio host for SeattleRed.
'Mata is not wrong that Lynnwood is a diverse city. She is wrong to assume that diverse communities cannot identify with the American flag,' Rantz added.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mata clarified her earlier statements that implied the American flag is not as meaningful as the pride flag.
'I apologize for the way I expressed myself, and I mean that sincerely. The American flag represents the sacrifices of veterans and military families, and the promise that drew immigrants like me to this country,' she said.
'I should have honored that more carefully in my remarks, and I did not. I have deep respect for everyone who has served under that flag.'
Mata has since walked back her comments and clarified that she has 'deep respect for everyone who has served' under the American flag (Pictured: Mata speaking at the Monday city council meeting)
During the council meeting, Mata wanted to introduce an amendment that would give her and the other council members the power to suggest which flags can be displayed at public parks and at City Hall. Currently, this is a power reserved for the mayor
What Mata sought to address during this week’s council meeting was which two flags should fly from the center pole at Wilcox Park.
That pole has only two attachment points and currently flies the POW/MIA flag alongside either the Washington state or American flag.
The mayor has the exclusive authority to decide which commemorative flags can be flown at City Hall, according to Lynnwood's flag policy. It also bans commemorative flags, such as those celebrating pride month and Juneteenth, from being displayed at public parks.
Mata wanted to introduce an amendment to the policy that would give the council the power to suggest flags to be flown at both City Hall and public parks, including Wilcox Park.
'Wilcox Park, that one that we can raise only has two flag thingys and it's hard to raise with a ladder. I think that to me sounds like an easy fix of we adjust the mechanisms that allow it to come down and we either add a third loop to add an additional flag or we make sure that the policy allows us to remove the state flag and the POW flag and replace it with a commemorative flag,' she said.