When it came to getting her colleagues on Maple Heights City Council to recognize June as Pride Month, the sixth time – and a wily strategy – was the charm for Councilperson Toni Jones.
On August 5, Maple Heights City Council in Northeast Ohio voted to recognize June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
The resolution was nonbinding, calls for zero funding allocations and does not establish any Pride Month events.
Still, it took six years to pass. A nearly identical resolution has been voted down by council every year since 2021.
To finally get the job done, Jones turned the table on Pride Month’s main adversary by using her own words against her.
Flashing Back to Maple Heights 2021
The Pride Month resolution was first proposed in 2021 by then Councilperson Richard Trojanski, an out LGBTQ+ elected official who left council in 2023.
The most vocal opponent to the resolution was Councilperson Edwina Agee, who voted against the resolution all three times it was on the agenda that year.
Agee originally said that she would not vote on such a resolution until she conducted a survey of her constituents. The Buckeye Flame could find no record that Agee had conducted a survey for any other resolutions.
Agee was challenged by a local resident who asked Agee to provide details on the survey.
“For my survey, you do not live in District 7, therefore you do not know what Councilwoman Agee does or how many surveys Councilwoman Agee has put out,” Agee said, speaking in the third person.
The Buckeye Flame obtained copies of the survey through a public records request. In a communication to the city’s law director, Agee claimed that she received 95 responses via “text, phone call, and visits,” but only provided the Buckeye Flame with 11 surveys.
Agee voted against the resolution, claiming that her constituents didn’t want it, despite some residents indicating in the surveys that they did support the language.
Turning the tables
Over the past five years, Jones has persisted in introducing the Pride Month resolution. In 2025, she introduced the language in May, hoping that timing would give the council enough time to pass the resolution either before or during Pride Month.
All pieces of legislation must be heard twice before being voted on at the third reading. Councilmembers can pass legislation on the first or second reading – called passing a bill “on emergency” – but that action must be approved unanimously. The 2025 legislation did not pass “on emergency” in the first or second reading and failed to pass outright at the third reading.
“So even giving them prep time did not make any difference,” Jones said.
Jones introduced the 2026 resolution at the June 3 meeting, asking that it be passed “on emergency.”
When the motion failed, Agee could be seen on the video recording of the meeting breaking out into a grin.
Agee immediately reminded council that the resolution to declare June in 2026 as Pride Month would not pass in June as the council’s next meeting was not until July. She then provided some unsolicited advice that would soon come back to defeat her:
“Maybe next year, I would recommend that whoever introduced it, maybe you start in April and maybe it can go through all three readings,” Agee said.
The second reading was held on July 1 with no vote and no discussion.
A Small But Mighty Change
When the resolution came back for its third reading on August 5 – now more than a month after Pride Month – Jones made a small change: she updated 2026 to 2027.
Instead of voting on the Pride resolution after Pride was over, the council was now voting on the language 10 months early.
Agee immediately spoke up.
“Is the reference to June 2027 intentional or is this a drafting error?” Agee asked.
“Councilwoman Agee, it is intentional,” Jones responded.
Agee was not done.
“Could you explain why council is being asked to approve a resolution recognizing June 2027 at this time?” Agee asked.
Jones used Agee’s own words in response.
“Because when this resolution was introduced prior to that, I do believe that you asked why there wasn’t enough time to look over or review whatever you had to do with the legislation,” Jones said. “Now, I have no problem removing that date if council wants to vote on recognizing the month of June [generally] as LGBTQ Pride Month.”
Agee tried to push back.
“Councilwoman Jones, I understand that you have three readings, but every time whoever introduces it, they introduce it at the end of May,” Agee said. “So if you want to do something … What are you going to do? Is it going to be something with education or is this just a feel-good resolution?”
Jones didn’t take the bait.
“I decline to get into any type of debate on this,” Jones said. “This has been introduced for years. It has not been voted on for years. So I am not entertaining conversation on this ordinance. You could either vote for it or not.”
Agee paused.
“Councilwoman Jones, that was very disrespectful,” Agee said. “All I’m doing is asking you a question.”
When Jones declined to respond, Agee was out of arguments.
The council then voted, with four in favor of the resolution: Jones, Timothy Tatum, Deonte Abrams and Shirley Merritt.
Stafford L. Shenett, Sr. and Tina Stafford-Marbury abstained.
There was only one no vote: Edwina Agee, defeated by her own suggestion to start the process earlier. The Buckeye Flame has reached out to Agee six times since 2021, including twice this summer, but she has never responded. None of the other councilmembers responded to our request for comment about their support of the resolution.
After five years of attempts, June 2027 will be recognized as Pride Month in Maple Heights.
In a statement provided to The Buckeye Flame, Jones expressed gratitude to her fellow council members and everyone who stood together over the past six years to support the resolution.
She said the resolution is more than “a symbolic gesture,” and is instead a reminder to the LGBTQ+ community in Maple Heights that they belong, that their voices matter and that their lives enrich the city.
“This is a public affirmation that every person deserves to be seen, respected, and valued,” Jones said. “It acknowledges the contributions, resilience and history of the LGBTQ+ community while reinforcing our commitment to building a city where everyone feels welcome and safe.”🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- There are still a few Ohio LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations left in 2026. Check them out in our Pride Guide here.
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