Commissioner Mike Clark’s $10,000 donation to a motorcycle group for their annual toy drive remains intact after being reconsidered on Tuesday, with a 3-2 vote in favor of retaining the donation.
Clark and commissioners Clara Andriola and Jeanne Herman voted to retain the donation. Chair Alexis Hill and Mariluz Garcia voted to rescind.
Hill had asked for the donation to be reconsidered after a man wore a vest with the Branded Few motorcycle club insignia, which includes a swastika and eagle similar to that on Nazi insignia, at the June 18 meeting .
Hill said that the symbol is used by different cultures with many meanings, but that it means something hateful here.
“Hitler kidnapped the swastika. The swastika has become a symbol of hate, racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, bigotry, discrimination and othering of people who were different,” Hill said.
Ronny James, a member of the Branded Few, argued the symbol is not a swastika but a bent cross, symbolizing four L’s, “luck, light, love and life” and that the eagle represents strength and freedom.