Gig Harbor presents Diversity Month proclamation, committee outlines survey showing room to improve on inclusion

Mayor Mary Barber proclaimed April as Diversity Month and read a second proclamation recognizing April as Month of the Military Child before the Gig Harbor City Council on April 14. The mayor presented both ceremonial proclamations at the start of the meeting and invited members of the Mayor's Committee on Diversity and Engagement forward to present results from a recent community survey.

Claudia Lantman, a member of the Mayor's Committee on Diversity and Engagement, told the council the committee conducted an online survey for roughly one month and received 342 complete responses. "We did this survey so that we could hear from people who wanted us to hear from them," Lantman said. She described the questionnaire and said respondents answered a set of items about whether the community is doing enough to be welcoming and a second set asking how welcoming Gig Harbor is to specific groups.

The committee's summary showed two-thirds or more of respondents agreed the city and community are doing enough on some broad questions — notably events — but Lantman said the most frequent responses were "somewhat agree," indicating considerable room for improvement. She highlighted that questions about the city's welcome for Black, Indigenous and people of color drew more disagreement than agreement: "There's actually more disagree responses than agree. Fifty‑seven percent disagreed and 31% strongly disagreed on that one," she said. Lantman also flagged lower scores for the LGBTQ+ community.

Council members asked about methodology and next steps. Council member Wouk asked how the committee plans to use the findings; Lantman said the committee will analyze the several hundred open‑ended comments and may recommend follow‑up research such as focused outreach or small focus groups. Council member Rodenberg pressed for the raw comments and Lantman replied nearly every survey respondent left at least one comment and that the committee will present those comments in a condensed, readable form to council.

Shay Smiley, the city's housing, health and human services manager, was identified by the mayor as the staff liaison to the committee; Barber thanked Smiley for that support. Council members said the survey gives the city a baseline against which to measure progress if the committee proposes actions and the council takes policy steps or directs staff.

The mayor also read a proclamation recognizing the Month of the Military Child and invited visiting military families to lead the Pledge of Allegiance earlier in the meeting.

The committee plans to return with more analysis of the open‑ended responses and potential recommendations for council consideration.