Tacoma residents could soon compete to replace the city's 35-year-old flag. The City Council took up a $6,000 spending proposal Tuesday, Aug. 25, to fund a public design competition championed by District 1 Councilmember John Hines.
The winner would receive $2,000. Second and third place would earn $1,000 each. The remaining $2,000 covers operational costs and flag purchases.
Hines argued the current flag violates basic design principles. The navy blue banner, adopted in 1991, features the city seal depicting Mount Rainier and Tacoma's incorporation year. It hangs only in City Council chambers at the Tacoma Municipal Building.
"Our flag is just a seal with lettering … And so, our flag, while we may love it, is a bad flag," Hines said at the council's Aug. 18 study session, citing criteria from the North American Vexillological Association.
That organization ranked 150 American city flags in 2004 and placed Tacoma's at 132nd, The News Tribune reported.
The competition has specific rules, according to Tacoma Weekly's coverage of the study session. Submissions must use simple symbolism, two or three colors, and no lettering or seals. A commission will narrow entries to 10, the public will pick three finalists, and the City Council will choose the winner.
Hines told The News Tribune on Aug. 20 that he hopes to finish the process by summer 2027, when Tacoma hosts the Association of Washington Cities' annual conference. He acknowledged it could take a few months longer.
Tacoma has cycled through three flags since incorporation, all featuring Mount Rainier. The city adopted its first in 1931, a second in 1972, and the current version in 1991 as part of a "corporate identity program" requiring the seal on all official materials related to the mayor and council, according to city spokesperson Maria Lee.
"It was felt that the seal, because of its historic significance, would reinforce the official status of the flag," Lee wrote to The News Tribune.
No submission deadline or competition launch date has been announced.
