The Pledge of Allegiance finally was recited in commissioners court Tuesday, but it may be awhile before it is heard there again.

The court approved a motion to develop a policy on saying a nonsectarian prayer followed by the pledge at meetings, instead of just saying the pledge.

There is no timetable for when the policy would be in place.

Commissioner Lester Gibson will work to develop a policy for a nonsectarian prayer for the court to adopt before the pledge.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

Commissioner Joe Mashek first placed the pledge issue on the agenda May 11, proposing that the court say the pledge and end it with “God bless Texas.”

The issue has been deferred each week since as the court discussed whether to also include a prayer.

But as Mashek began to make a motion on the item Tuesday, Commissioner Lester Gibson instead motioned that meetings begin with a prayer followed by the pledge.

The motion, which was approved by all except Mashek, stated that Gibson and Commissioner Kelly Snell would work to develop a policy for a nonsectarian prayer for the court to adopt before the pledge and prayer would be included in the meetings.

Before the motions, Bill Mahon, a local veterans advocate and former veteran services officer for McLennan County, approached the court during the public comment period to again petition the commissioners to institute the pledge.

Mahon then rose to his feet, turned to face the American flag and led the room in reciting the pledge. Audience members quickly stood up and joined him, save for a few members of the court who seemed taken by surprise.

“I did not intend to say the pledge . . . but while I was up there, I thought, ‘There’s no time like the present, in case they forgot what it sounds like, let’s just do it.’ And I said it,” he said after the meeting.

Gibson acknowledged that the prayer policy could not be used to restrict a person from praying in accordance with his or her personal religious beliefs, such as invoking Jesus Christ or Buddha.

Instead, the policy would list the court’s official guidelines for a nondenominational prayer, to avoid appearing biased toward or against any particular religion.

“Of course, we don’t want to put the taxpayers at risk of some frivolous lawsuit that may cost the taxpayers money, so we want to have a policy on that,” Gibson said after the meeting.

Mashek said he would have motioned to have a moment of silence along with the pledge to avoid potential legal consequences the county could face from the prayer.

He said he considers it disrespectful for a member of the court to take over an issue that another commissioner introduced.

“He was very rude, I thought, in doing what he did,” Mashek said of Gibson. Mashek said he voted no only on County Attorney Mike Dixon’s advice against a prayer.

“I would not disrespect any of my commissioners that introduced anything to the agenda to take over in such a way as that,” he said.

Gibson said he simply wanted to make a decision on the issue since it was repeatedly deferred.

“Anytime anybody brings an agenda item on, it becomes a court agenda item,” Gibson said. “I made a motion, it got seconded, and it passed. So that issue is out the way. It passed.”

Some constituents feel the court should not have taken this long to make a decision on the pledge.

Waco City Council and the Waco Independent School District board of trustees recite the pledge at the beginning of their meetings.

Toby Marie Walker, president of the Waco Tea Party, said the court should have adopted the Pledge of Allegiance when it was first proposed instead of delaying it with the debate over prayer.

She intends to invite local veterans and tea party representatives from the region to next week’s commissioners court to push for an immediate adoption of the pledge.

“We don’t understand what the holdup is with the Pledge of Allegiance,” Walker said, adding that deferring the issue to consult with the county attorney costs taxpayers money in legal fees.

“To pass that portion, and to take up the prayer portion, which I understand is a little more controversial, is a separate item,” Walker said. “That wasn’t the original agenda item.”

rdennis@wacotrib.com

757-5755

RELATED SEARCHES

• Residents ask undecided county commissioners to say pledge, prayer at meetings
• County leaders seek legal advice on saying prayer
• County commissioners to discuss incorporating Pledge, possible prayer into meetings
• McLennan County commissioner seeking input for meeting prayer guidelines
• Citizens again lead pledge at commissioners court while waiting for official policy