ST. CLOUD, Fla. – Months after choosing not to issue any proclamations for June, St. Cloud is set to reevaluate how it issues proclamations.
In June 2025, during a special St. Cloud City Council meeting about “Proud in the Cloud,” a community member expressed their thoughts on the city giving $1,250 in taxpayer dollars to the event.
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“I object to my taxpayer dollars going to support this Pride event. This is nothing more than a celebration of a sexual preference and an alternate lifestyle,” one man said.
That meeting followed the council’s choice not to issue any proclamations for June. The decision led to a disagreement between Mayor Chris Robertson and former Deputy Mayor Shawn Fletcher, the first openly gay council member.
Fletcher was removed as deputy mayor after the council disagreed with how he handled the decision not to issue proclamations, suggesting they did not want to support Pride Month.
Shawn Fletcher talked to News 6 about the decision in June
“I absolutely believe it could have been handled differently in that I’m going to leave it at that,” he said.
“Proud in the Cloud” went on with over 1,500 attendees, with Fletcher saying he wanted to bring the issue of proclamation back up.
“I do think that we’re going to look at the processes and next year I hope to have a pride proclamation back on the agenda,” Fletcher said.
Fast forward to January 2026, the council will hold a workshop to reevaluate how it issues proclamations.
“When I heard all about this last year on the news, I just thought why does it affect other people if it’s not pertaining to them? St. Cloud resident Corbin Warrick said. “Why is it such a big deal?”
Some residents believe the city should issue community support proclamations because they can unite St. Cloud.
“We live in a society where it’s like a melting pot and I think it’s great to celebrate each person. If you’re not someone that’s not interested in that, then just don’t participate in it,” Emma Alexandre said.
In addition to Pride Month, the council also voted not to issue proclamations for Homeownership Month or Fatherhood Awareness Month.
The workshop is Thursday at 2:30 p.m.