SNOHOMISH—The Snohomish Historic Values Society has claimed responsibility for an anonymous anti-gay text message poll sent to thousands of City of Snohomish residents that asked whether they wanted the City’s mayor to veto the contract for the upcoming Snohomish Pride parade.
The group, in an email to the Lynnwood Times, stated that they commissioned a third-party SMS service in South Snohomish County to conduct the poll sent March 20 asking recipients: “Do you support vetoing the Snohomish Gay/Trans pride parade on First Street this year?”
According to the group’s email, the text-message poll represented a cross-section of City of Snohomish voters of which 401 responded. The spokesman for the group, told the Lynnwood Times he would like to remain anonymous.
“After adjusting the results to reflect the local electorate by age, gender, and party affiliation (and a coordinated attempt at Democrat over-voting), 46% of respondents indicated support for a veto, while 54% opposed it, with a margin of error of approximately ±5 percentage points,” the email stated.
The poll results indicated that community opinion stood closely divided on the parade, with a slight majority opposed to a mayoral veto; however, factoring in the margin of error the results are pretty much an even split.
The spokesman for Snohomish Historic Values Society described the poll as the first of its kind and said the results showed that half the city wanted to hit pause on this controversial event. A poll of this nature is typically not considered scientific because it lacks details on random probability sampling or full methodological transparency from the third-party service which can be verified.
“I would also say that we can’t independently validate the results of an anonymous poll that was conducted by a group that has no presence and no named leaders,” Sloane, Board President of Out in Snohomish told the Lynnwood Times. “And we don’t necessarily trust the results.”
The email from the group specially called out former City of Snohomish Mayor Linda Redmond who first hosted Snohomish Pride in the city back in 2023, stated that she was “rejected by voters last year” and implied that this rejection is a mandate by voters for the “new Council and Mayor” to not approve the event.
Redmond is connected to earlier criticisms of Pride activities back in 2023 but since then, there haven’t been any recorded issues.
In June 2023 and July 2023 former mayor John Kartak posted online about a drag queen performance during the inaugural Pride event held in the Carnegie Building in the very room of weekly council meetings. Images show Redmond and other elected officials throwing money to a performer in a suggestive pose on the floor.
“Am I the only one who is uncomfortable with our Mayor throwing stripper cash down to a man performing a sexual act at her feet while dressed like a female prostitute in the upstairs Council Chambers of the City’s Carnegie building,” former Mayor Kartak wrote in the post.
A year later in April of 2024, another Snohomish resident posted on Facebook condemning Redmond and drag events for Snohomish Pride as inappropriate for the small community.
“Snohomish had their first ever Pride Day June 3rd, 2023,” the person wrote. “Earlier attempts were frustrated by locals condemning such intended activities as well the presence of persons opposed to any thought to attempt celebration of homosexual Pride and the alphabet soup growing out of it. These Pride activities should be condemned!”
Out in Snohomish confirmed with the Lynnwood Times that the Snohomish Pride Parade is above board, has no and never had any nudity, and is family friendly.
“It is very family friendly and actually one of the comments that was made at the city council [on April 7] was that members of the community who support the queer community who are not comfortable with the Seattle Pride parade and some of the more adult themes feel that they’re able to come to Snohomish,” Sloane told the Lynnwood Times. “So, it is family friendly. There’s no nudity. We thoroughly vet all of the parade participants and the market participants.”
Mayor Aaron Hoffman, in a now widely shared video statement viewed at least 10,000 times on Facebook, addressed the anti-gay text poll stating it did not come from him and that he would sign the Pride Parade contract if the council approved it.
“Let me be clear,” Hoffman stated firmly, “Some events carry strong community opinion. I understand that. But my role as mayor is not to fight social or political battles from City Hall. My job is to lead, apply standards, and make sure the city operates fairly and consistently. Standards come before politics, always. When an event organizer follows the process in place, meets the requirements, and submits a complete application, the city moves that forward, period…. So yes, assuming council approval, I will be signing the Pride Parade contract. For the same reason I signed the Easter Parade contract…. Same rules, same standards.”
The City Council is set to consider the Snohomish Pride Parade contract on April 21 at its business meeting as part of the consent agenda. Under Robert’s Rules of Order any single member could request removal of an item from the consent agenda for separate discussion—no motion is needed, no second is required, and no vote of the body is taken to approve the removal of the item for the consent agenda.
The removed item is then taken up separately either immediately after the consent agenda vote or placed later in the agenda.
“I just want to thank everyone who came out on April 7th,” Sloane told the Lynnwood Times. “We saw resounding support for the Snohomish Pride Parade and we’ve really for the most part heard positive stories of how affirming and welcoming the Pride Parade makes Snohomish as a city. We feel the majority of the city council members reflect the city that they live in and want to support the parade.”
Seattle Pride issued a statement in full solidarity with Snohomish Pride: “An anonymous text campaign is attempting to block the 2026 Pride permit — spreading misinformation and targeting LGBTQIA2S+ community members. We want to be clear: denying a permit simply because it’s a Pride event is unconstitutional.”
Out in Snohomish is encouraging community members to attend Monday’s upcoming meeting.
“Please come, please be involved,” Sloane said. “We also ran a campaign. We had a free Snohomish Pride T-shirt with a donation. We saw a resounding number of people participate. So, yeah, please participate. Sign up to volunteer, come to our regular events. We have ongoing events. So out in Snohomish is not just about the Pride Parade, but it’s ongoing engagement and community within Snohomish.”
Snohomish Pride is hosted by Out in Snohomish, a non-profit grassroots LGBTQ+ social group dedicated to building community for LGBTQ+ people and allies through monthly meetups, events and advocacy in the City of Snohomish.
The Snohomish Pride Parade is scheduled for June 6 as a joyful family-friendly event through downtown Snohomish. Other activities included a Pride Market on June 6, a community picnic on June 13, and a private ticketed drag brunch on June 14 at Jardin Del Sol.
Out in Snohomish is currently seeking volunteers for its upcoming Snohomish Pride event. Sign up visit https://www.outinsnohomish.org/volunteer. An upcoming Snohomish Pride Planning Meeting is scheduled for April 22, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Waltz Building located at 116 Avenue B in Snohomish. For more information visit https://www.outinsnohomish.org/.
Author: Mario Lotmore
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