BOISE, Idaho — On Tuesday, Boise Mayor McLean announced that the city will not move forward with selecting a new city flag.
The City of Boise released four design options for the public to choose as the city's new flag last week, but many locals were quick to criticize the new options, arguing they're too simple, boring, or don't reflect the spirit of Boise.
One resident, Lorri Lee said, “I like that it has the Capitol. It just represents Idaho. I just like it. I guess I’m old and I don’t like change.”
Within hours of the new flag design options being unveiled, a citizen-led petition was started encouraging the city to either start from scratch in the design process or simply keep Boise's old flag. The petition gathered over 3,000 signatures.
RELATED: Petition to revisit City of Boise flag design reaches 2k signatures
Sonja Cortopassi says, “I didn’t understand why it was being redesigned in the first place. Then all these people went through this effort to participate in this program, and then it’s kind of for not. I would imagine people being pretty disappointed, especially if they made it to the final four.”
"One thing is clear: Boiseans are passionate about our city and our flag," said Mayor McLean. "I’ve decided that it isn’t the right time to move forward with a new flag. I’ve always said that being responsive to residents — listening and learning as I make decisions — is a key part of how I serve Boise."
The city tells me those four final designs, made public last week, came from four different artists. One was a merged design between two artists.
A committee helped review submissions and select finalists.
I reached out to a committee member, Ashley Hammond, Borah Neighborhood Association who says she supports the mayor’s decision to pause the process, saying it demonstrates her willingness to listen to the community’s concerns.
The old flag features a realistic drawing of the Idaho State Capitol with trees in the foreground and typography that reads: Boise, City of Trees.
While the city's flag will not be changing, McLean did release all of the flag submissions received by Boise residents — those can be viewed here.
City of Boise Flag Submissions:
