“This flag has been the flag for 30 years,” Ewing said. “It has never been propagated throughout the city. This flag is flown in four places that we can think of.”

The flag is represented in council chambers, the council committee meeting room, on top of the Denver Avenue bus station downtown and in front of the BOK Center, Ewing said.

“No one has ever noticed or cared,” Ewing said. “It has never impacted our lives — not once ever.”

Councilor Karen Gilbert advocated for a series of town-hall meetings to gather public input before any official change is considered.

“What I would like to propose is that we go out to the public with it and get their input,” Gilbert said. “Why would we not want to get out there and give them the opportunity to meet with all of us to discuss how they feel about the proposal?”

Councilor Ben Kimbro said the suddenly changed opinion of the council is “bizarre.”

“I’ve been told by some of our peers on the council that this is an irrelevant and fairly-unimportant thing,” he said. I recall on a couple of occasions when the Tulsa Flag guys were in here and all nine of us sat here nodding approvingly the process being explained to us in detail.

“At no time did anyone raise a flag or a hand to ask a question about the quality of that process but now are loudly opposing it. … I think that is bizarre.”

Jarrel Wade 918-581-8367 jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com Twitter: @jwprairiedog