LATHROP – Twelve letters making up four words will soon be on permanent display above the city seal inside Lathrop City Hall’s Council Chambers.
“In God We Trust.”
The public display of the United States’ national motto was unanimously approved by the five council members Tuesday night in a resolution which directed staff to find out how much the sign and its installation will cost. No time frame was given as to when motto should be installed. However, the resolution’s language specifically states that “these historic and patriotic words shall be permanently displayed in a prominent location above the City seal in the Council Chambers.”
Costs of sample displays already hanging in the council chambers of about 50 cities throughout California, which the council considered during the discussion, ranged from $344.80 in San Clemente to $1,279.81 in Lancaster.
With council members Robert Oliver and Christopher Mateo admitting to being “conflicted” on the issue during the lengthy discussion prior to the vote, the resolution was adopted on an unanimous vote.
After “rambling” about the city hanging pictures of former mayors to “honor (their) memories and their contributions” and never wearing “a cross on my lapel,” Oliver eventually admitted, “I will not be offended if we put it (the display) in” and will defer to the decision of his “colleagues who are less conflicted.”
The retired minister of the Lathrop Church of Christ also noted that invocations are already part of council meetings. Oliver himself, on several occasions, had been asked to lead the invocation in the absence of one of the area ministers who alternately perform this task.
Mateo said he felt conflicted because, while he considers himself “a religious person,” the religious display is “a controversial issue.” He then threw what he called a “monkey wrench” into the discussion by suggesting, “Why not ‘So Help Me God’ instead of ‘In God We Trust’?”
Mayor Kristy Sayles nixed Mateo’s suggestion saying, “’Help me God’ is not our national motto. (In God We Trust) is our motto. I think this is a good idea. I don’t have any problem with it.”
Council member Sonny Dhaliwal, who belongs to the country’s oldest Sikh temple located at Aurora Street in Stockton, did not see any problem having the sign emblazoned on the wall behind the dais where the council members sit during meetings.
“Any reference of God” is noble, he said.
“In God We Trust,” he added, “is on our currency, on our Senate building, and it’s our national motto. We’re just displaying a motto.”
After being informed that there are about 17 churches in Lathrop, Vice Mayor Martha Salcedo said that the number alone says something “about our city, that we are a religious city. I don’t see (the displayed motto) hurting anybody, just like the stop lights and speeding signs. When it starts hurting, then we’ll try to do something about it.”
Two residents, J. Chaka Santos and Rosalinda Valencia, were strongly opposed to displaying the nation’s motto at City Hall.
“In God we trust. That’s a great motto. It’s in our pocket, it’s in our banks, it’s in our minds, and it’s in our soul. But that motto should always remain in the home, in churches, in synagogues, in our soul, in our conscience, not in the (council) chamber. Do not use God as a political ploy,” Santos said.
He said he was against the proposal because he did not want the city to be embroiled in yet another potential legal matter involving taxpayers’ money and cited the ongoing Matt Browne wrongful-termination issue as an example.
“Are we going to be subjected to lawsuits again? We don’t need that here. Rightfully, ‘In God We Trust’ should remain in the person’s soul, synagogues, and churches, not in the council chambers,” Santos said.
He ended his comment by telling the council, “Bless you all.”
Valencia was against the religious display for the same reason cited by Santos.
“I’m concerned about lawsuits from other religions,” she said.
She simply wanted to make sure “that we don’t hurt anybody (because) not everybody believes in the Bible or the Koran,” and pointed out as an example Council member Dhaliwal as belonging to the Sikh religion.
“I just want to make sure that everybody is comfortable in that motto,” Valencia said.
Dhaliwal said he was initially concerned that displaying the religious statement at City Hall “might invite some legal action” against the city.
“I respect all religions. I’m a believer. My only hesitation is the legal action. But this letter changed my mind. With this letter I don’t have any hesitation” approving the resolution, he said.
Dhaliwal was referring to the letter from Brad Dacus, the president of the Pacific Justice Institute, addressed to Bakersfield council member Jacquie Sullival, the founder and president of In God We Trust – America, Inc.
In the letter, Dacus notes that “the United States Supreme Court has never indicated that governmental expression must be sanitized of all religious symbolism or references” and that his nonprofit organization “specializes in defending religious liberty, including our nation’s religious heritage.”
Resident Monique White supported the council’s decision, saying, “Ultimately, the bottom line is, what good or bad would it do to display that sign? For me, it’s important that the city communicates… ethics, morality, justice.”
“In God We Trust.”
The public display of the United States’ national motto was unanimously approved by the five council members Tuesday night in a resolution which directed staff to find out how much the sign and its installation will cost. No time frame was given as to when motto should be installed. However, the resolution’s language specifically states that “these historic and patriotic words shall be permanently displayed in a prominent location above the City seal in the Council Chambers.”
Costs of sample displays already hanging in the council chambers of about 50 cities throughout California, which the council considered during the discussion, ranged from $344.80 in San Clemente to $1,279.81 in Lancaster.
With council members Robert Oliver and Christopher Mateo admitting to being “conflicted” on the issue during the lengthy discussion prior to the vote, the resolution was adopted on an unanimous vote.
After “rambling” about the city hanging pictures of former mayors to “honor (their) memories and their contributions” and never wearing “a cross on my lapel,” Oliver eventually admitted, “I will not be offended if we put it (the display) in” and will defer to the decision of his “colleagues who are less conflicted.”
The retired minister of the Lathrop Church of Christ also noted that invocations are already part of council meetings. Oliver himself, on several occasions, had been asked to lead the invocation in the absence of one of the area ministers who alternately perform this task.
Mateo said he felt conflicted because, while he considers himself “a religious person,” the religious display is “a controversial issue.” He then threw what he called a “monkey wrench” into the discussion by suggesting, “Why not ‘So Help Me God’ instead of ‘In God We Trust’?”
Mayor Kristy Sayles nixed Mateo’s suggestion saying, “’Help me God’ is not our national motto. (In God We Trust) is our motto. I think this is a good idea. I don’t have any problem with it.”
Council member Sonny Dhaliwal, who belongs to the country’s oldest Sikh temple located at Aurora Street in Stockton, did not see any problem having the sign emblazoned on the wall behind the dais where the council members sit during meetings.
“Any reference of God” is noble, he said.
“In God We Trust,” he added, “is on our currency, on our Senate building, and it’s our national motto. We’re just displaying a motto.”
After being informed that there are about 17 churches in Lathrop, Vice Mayor Martha Salcedo said that the number alone says something “about our city, that we are a religious city. I don’t see (the displayed motto) hurting anybody, just like the stop lights and speeding signs. When it starts hurting, then we’ll try to do something about it.”
Two residents, J. Chaka Santos and Rosalinda Valencia, were strongly opposed to displaying the nation’s motto at City Hall.
“In God we trust. That’s a great motto. It’s in our pocket, it’s in our banks, it’s in our minds, and it’s in our soul. But that motto should always remain in the home, in churches, in synagogues, in our soul, in our conscience, not in the (council) chamber. Do not use God as a political ploy,” Santos said.
He said he was against the proposal because he did not want the city to be embroiled in yet another potential legal matter involving taxpayers’ money and cited the ongoing Matt Browne wrongful-termination issue as an example.
“Are we going to be subjected to lawsuits again? We don’t need that here. Rightfully, ‘In God We Trust’ should remain in the person’s soul, synagogues, and churches, not in the council chambers,” Santos said.
He ended his comment by telling the council, “Bless you all.”
Valencia was against the religious display for the same reason cited by Santos.
“I’m concerned about lawsuits from other religions,” she said.
She simply wanted to make sure “that we don’t hurt anybody (because) not everybody believes in the Bible or the Koran,” and pointed out as an example Council member Dhaliwal as belonging to the Sikh religion.
“I just want to make sure that everybody is comfortable in that motto,” Valencia said.
Dhaliwal said he was initially concerned that displaying the religious statement at City Hall “might invite some legal action” against the city.
“I respect all religions. I’m a believer. My only hesitation is the legal action. But this letter changed my mind. With this letter I don’t have any hesitation” approving the resolution, he said.
Dhaliwal was referring to the letter from Brad Dacus, the president of the Pacific Justice Institute, addressed to Bakersfield council member Jacquie Sullival, the founder and president of In God We Trust – America, Inc.
In the letter, Dacus notes that “the United States Supreme Court has never indicated that governmental expression must be sanitized of all religious symbolism or references” and that his nonprofit organization “specializes in defending religious liberty, including our nation’s religious heritage.”
Resident Monique White supported the council’s decision, saying, “Ultimately, the bottom line is, what good or bad would it do to display that sign? For me, it’s important that the city communicates… ethics, morality, justice.”
