Charter commission reopens debate over Pledge of Allegiance; votes to restore pledge at start of meetings after heated public comment

Whatcom County Charter Review Commission members opened a prolonged discussion about whether to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of commission meetings and ultimately voted to restore the practice.

The dispute began during public comment, when several residents urged commissioners either to retain the pledge or to stop using it. Todd Beystein, speaking as a private citizen, told commissioners: “Please don’t waste any time on reconsidering the Pledge of Allegiance. Move on and do the good work for the people.” Tori Busco, another member of the public, said: “This is America. We’re Americans. We need to respect our flag. We need to respect our country, and we are one nation under God.”

The public comments fed a full commission debate about procedure, notice and the substance of beginning meetings with a collective ritual. Some commissioners said they objected to how the pledge item had been introduced at an earlier meeting without what they considered adequate notice;…