Vote “no” on the proposed flag design. Maine needs a new flag design, but not this one. This is not our last chance.

A strikingly similar flag, the Christian nationalist revolutionary flag “An Appeal to Heaven,” was brandished in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. It represents revolution against the government. If you’re looking for a “pine flag” image, this is what you’ll mostly find. It was used until the American Revolution. We do not want a symbol associated with the revolution as a state flag.

Maine’s “historic” pine flag, used just eight years before the current state flag was adopted in 1909, had in fact been based on the same symbolism and revolutionary image of history.

The pine stands for strength, and we can draw on that, as well as our history—and the symbol of the Wabanaki pine—while choosing a unique design for the Pine State that we can all be proud of.

The truth is that the design you are voting on was meticulously specified by the Legislature without voter input in a law that was passed (LD 86) on January 7, 2024, without the governor’s signature after several other attempts failed. The specifications of the law dictated each symbol, color, size, proportion, background and placement of the symbols on the flag. This summer’s “Flag Design Contest” only allowed for input into the exact details of the shape of the floating pin and what precise hex codes should be designated for the shade of each color. The results of the contest determined only those elements. Now, a “yes” vote in November will serve to complete the Legislature’s mandated bill.

You might like the new flag design, in which case you’ll vote yes. If you want a new flag, but maybe not the tree levitating in the background, a “no” vote will keep our options open for a new flag design we can all support.

When the law was passed, at least seven companies, several from out of state, were already distributing their versions of the 1901 flag on commercial products. Secretary Bellows’ competition allowed him to show no favoritism to the tree shape of a company.

Want for-profit entities to dictate a “done deal” to Mainers? Are you voting yes because anything is better than what we have now? Or is it because they’re all over the place so it’s “too late”? It is not.

For example, Maine already has a beautiful, unique design that features a pine tree and star, and it came about as a result of an open, statewide design contest instigated by the Legislature, overseen by then-Secretary of State Matt Dunlap in 2019. the final design won 59% support from 6,500 online survey respondents. It is Maine Bicentennial Flag.

I once saw this design, but never saw it again; disappeared with our public lives and our centenary celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But while commercial entities flooded the market with the buff flag, we knew Maine had something better. It took me a lot longer than it should have to find it, but I finally did and even found the name of the Mainer who designed it.

Jeff Van West’s winning design features a pine tree in the foreground, extending beyond the flag’s border to give the feeling of standing next to it in the woods, looking out over the water. Beyond it, light blue represents Maine’s rivers, ponds, and oceanfront. Above the water is the dark blue of the sky with the North Star shining above. The original submission had a simple white five-pointed star. The Bicentennial Star is more complex.

This flag is a winner in every way; it ticks all the boxes: bold graphics that are easy to replicate, beautiful colors, historical reference to pine, Maine waters and North Star. It feels like home.

Vote “no” on the buff flag. We can choose a better symbol for our state that we can all be proud of.

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