One year after a contentious 4-3 minority council vote blocked the city’s Pride Month proclamation, Battle Ground Mayor Troy McCoy issued the statement without objection during the City Council’s Monday, June 16 meeting.
The proclamation was read aloud by McCoy early in the meeting, recognizing June as Pride Month in the city of Battle Ground and outlining the history and continued struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.
“Now, therefore, I, Troy McCoy, mayor of the city of Battle Ground, by virtue of the authority invested in me by the laws of Battle Ground and Washington, do hereby proclaim June 2025 as Pride Month,” McCoy stated after reading a declaration that emphasized inclusion, safety and dignity for LGBTQ+ residents.
Last year, Councilors Eric Overholser, Tricia Davis and Victoria Ferrer voted to remove the proclamation from the agenda, despite being in the minority. The three labeled the Pride statement as “controversial,” triggering backlash from residents and council members who supported it.
The council voted 4-3 in May this year to change the policy, eliminating the ability for a minority to veto proclamations. That vote came after Overholser introduced a failed motion to eliminate mayoral proclamations entirely. The proposal drew concern from residents and activists, who argued it would erase a vital avenue for community recognition.
Jessica Cole, a local activist and president of Evoke Cascadia, who authored the original proclamation, addressed the council following its official reading.
“Thank you so much, Mayor McCoy, for issuing this Pride proclamation and for taking the step towards acknowledging and affirming the LGBTQ+ community here in Battle Ground,” Cole said.
Cole also thanked Councilors Shane Bowman, Cherish DesRochers and Jeanie Kuypers for voting to retain mayoral authority over proclamations.
“This proclamation did not come easy or without resistance,” Cole said. “Over the past year, there were real efforts to shut down this kind of recognition altogether. It followed statements suggesting that queer lives and identities were too controversial for even a symbolic acknowledgment.”
Referencing the 2019 murder of Nikki Kuhnhausen, a transgender teen from Clark County, Cole said the need for visibility was not abstract.
“Visibility and affirmation are not just symbolic,” she said. “They help build a world where tragedies like that are less likely to happen again.”
Clark County resident Fia Marie spoke passionately in support of the proclamation and said the stakes were deeply personal.
“We won’t stay silent any longer, we will not roll over easy,” Marie said. “We aren’t giving up any more ground, we are standing our ground.”
Marie said the LGBTQ+ community has faced coordinated attacks throughout history and continues to be targeted today, but emphasized resilience.
“We survived Nazis… and we’re gonna survive this round too,” she said.
Public comments that followed reflected gratitude, emotion and continued calls for inclusion. Unlike last year, when the meeting drew anti-LGBTQ+ protestors from outside Battle Ground, no one spoke in opposition to the proclamation or the LGBTQ+ community.
Ferrer was absent but excused from the meeting. Davis and Overholser, who were present, did not comment on the proclamation during councilor comments.
