The People’s Flag of Milwaukee campaign’s push to make its flag the city’s official flag was dealt another blow this month when the Milwaukee Arts Board declined to recommend adopting the flag, and instead proposed yet another design contest to determine the city’s flag. It was a recommendation that seemed almost purposefully designed to make nobody happy, and sure enough, the People’s Flag campaign wasn’t.

This morning the campaign sent an email to supporters encouraging them to sign a Change.org petition telling the city to approve their flag. “We believe a new process is unnecessary and counterproductive to Milwaukee’s future, as it discredits the thorough and inclusive process executed in the adoption of The People’s Flag,” the email reads. “In addition to valuing the time and effort spent during the first redesign process, city officials are estimating a new initiative to cost upwards of $100,000. We believe that money can be better spent elsewhere.”

At issue, of course, is that many members of the Common Council don’t believe the People’s Flag campaign’s process was inclusive. At a committee meeting this summer, multiple alders complained that their constituents were excluded from the People’s Flag’s online selection process, which was highly publicized in some circles of the city but considerably less visible in others. “I have significant portions of my district, African-Americans, that were not included and were offended by the design,” Ald. Robert Bauman said at the time. Ald. Chantia Lewis echoed those complaints, saying that it was unfair to let “15 people change the entire flag for 600,000 people.”

It’s hard to see how a Change.org petition directed at the same supporters who already back the People’s Flag would change the council’s mind. If the original People’s Flag campaign wasn’t inclusive—and let's be clear here, it was a backdoor campaign by a few to change the city flag for everyone, which to many eyes is the literal opposite of inclusive—launching yet another non-inclusive online campaign doesn’t correct that. While the petition is yet more evidence of how deep support for the People’s Flag runs—and there should be no doubt that it runs deep—it’s also a reminder of the campaign’s base refusal to acknowledge the considerable portions of the city that felt left out of the loop by the campaign in the first place.

You can read the campaign’s complete petition below. As of this morning, the petition was just a few dozen signatures away from meeting its never-in-question goal of 500 signatories.

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