By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Requests to fly flags from the second flagpole at the American Civic Center continue to spark controversy as tensions flared again over the issue at this week’s Town Council meeting.
In accordance with the Town Council’s Policy on the use of flagpoles on town property, Councilor Robert Vincent presented several requests for flags to be flown in 2025 on the second flagpole located at the Americal Civic Center.
He asked that the Americal Division Flag be flown from Jan. 1 through June 1, on June 14 and from July 1 through Dec. 31. He asked that the Pride Flag be flown from June 2 through 13, June 15 through June 18 and June 26 through June 30. Finally, he requested that the Juneteenth Flag fly from June 19 through June 25. He stressed that his request to fly these flags did not constitute a change to the current Flag Policy.
The main flag pole at the American flies the American Flag and the Pow-MIA flag 365 days a year.
Vincent noted that federal government facilities have flown the Pride flag for a number of years and that Juneteenth has been a federal holiday since 2021.
Veterans Advisory Board chairman Paul Cancelliere and Wakefield Human Rights Commission chair Jessica Suttich were both present at the meeting and represented that their respective boards supported Vincent’s flag request.
But Town Councilor John Carney challenged Cancelliere, asking if the Veterans Advisory Board had taken a vote to endorse Vincent’s request. Cancelliere admitted that there had not been a vote, but he said that the VAB was “aware” of Vincent’s request.
“I don’t understand how you can come here and represent that they support this,” Carney said.
Carney also had some words of criticism for the Human Rights Commission’s posture towards the American flag. He noted that at that at the HRC’s Martin Luther King celebrations, they do not even recite the Pledge of Allegiance and that the American Flag is “stashed off to the far left of the stage.”
Suttich said that the HRC is not responsible for the stage setup, but said that she would bring the concerns about the program to the full commission.
Town Councilor Edward Dombroski said that he would not be supporting Vincent’s flag requests, but insisted that it had nothing to do with the specific flags in question. He said that he did not support the Town Council’s Flag Policy and had voted against adopting it last April.
Dombroski cited “unintended consequences” of limiting the number of flags that can be flown to just the three listed in Vincent’s request.
“Those are the easy ones,” he said of the Pride, Juneteenth and Americal Division flags. He added that he didn’t think that the Town Council should be in the business of deciding which flags are flown and which ones are not. He said he would prefer a policy like the one adopted by the town of Reading, where only the American and POW-MIA flags may be displayed on town property.
“People feel strongly about a variety of issues,” Dombroski said, adding that the town’s policy puts the Town Council in the position of calling balls and strikes on flag requests.
He argued that others who might want to fly flags don’t have that opportunity.
Vincent disagreed, insisting that if another group wanted to fly a different flag, his request could simply be amended to allow it.
But Dombroski reminded the board that every request to fly a flag other than the Pride and Juneteenth flags has been denied by the Town Council.
Reesponding Vincent’s point that Juneteenth is a federal holiday, Dombroski noted that Christmas and Columbus Day have been federal holidays for much longer and yet the Town Council has denied requests to fly the Christian flag and the Christopher Columbus flag in connection with those holidays.
“It goes beyond a simple request,” Dombroski said. “Its a bigger issue.”
Things got even more heated when Carney insisted that there was “no such thing as an Americal Division flag.” Vincent took great exception to Carney’s assertion and cited evidence to the contrary.
Town Councilor Douglas Butler suggested that flying the POW-MIA flag established a “slippery slope” for flying flags other than the American flag.
But Town Counsel Thomas Mullen noted that the POW-MIA flag is “on a different footing” because the law requires the POW-MIA flag to be flown with the American flag.
In the end, the Town Council voted 5-2 to approve Vincent’s requests, with Dombroski and Carney opposed.
