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Athens City Council members are divided over a proposal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings

By: Charlie Ihlenfeld
Posted on: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Athens City Council members are split on adding the Pledge of Allegiance to open council meetings.  

During Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Alan Swank proposed adding three changes to the rules for starting council meetings, including reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. His proposal was met with pushback by other council members.

“As far as the pledge, I’m very against it,” said Councilmember Michael Wood. “One, article of faith, I’m a Quaker, so I don’t do that, so I won’t. Two, it feels performative. And three, I’m uncomfortable with performing that in this current moment with this administration.” 

Wood objected to anything he believed to be a “fealty pledge.” He was joined in opposition by Councilmembers Jessica Thomas and Paul Isherwood. Thomas concurred with Wood, adding in her own religious objection to the proposal. 

“I am not in favor of that (the pledge),” said Thomas. “I am a very longtime atheist, and I have no desire to introduce religion or fealty pledges into local government.” 

Isherwood’s argument came from his background as an immigrant and a history teacher. He remarked the pledge has been used to indoctrinate immigrant’s children, and the references to religion only emerge in the 1950s. His was referring to the bill signed in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.  

“As someone who is an immigrant to this country and got my citizenship three or four years ago, I’m very proud to be an American,” said Isherwood. “The original Pledge of Allegiance did not include a reference to religion, and it came out of an anti-immigrant sentiment.”  

Swank said he respected the comments made by the council members but referenced the Pledge of Allegiance being read at many Athens-based organizations and events. He pointed to the Athens Board of Education and the Central Committee of the Democratic Party. Further, Swank said participation in the pledge is not required.  

After his additional comments, Councilmember Beth Clodfelter voiced support for the council members who objected to the pledge.  

“I don’t think I had a strong opinion about the Pledge of Allegiance until I heard three of our seven City Council members mention discomfort with it,” said Clodfelter. “And if there’s anything that makes three of seven members uncomfortable, then I’m against it.”  

Council did not advance this proposal or any other rule changes, opting to wait until at least next week to vote on each proposal separately. Additionally, Council President Micah McCarey floated the idea of waiting two weeks until the next time the council meets in committee. 

The discussion over the pledge is already sparking additional debate on social media. 

For example, the exchanges between Swank, Wood, Thomas and Isherwood were posted to Facebook by Jay Edwards, a Nelsonville resident, former state legislator and candidate for state treasurer. Edwards took aim at the members opposed to reciting the pledge in a post with nearly 600 comments on Facebook.  

In a follow-up email, Swank wrote that he would continue discussing options for all three agenda items with Council President McCarey. However, due to his commitment with NOPEC, Swank said he had been unable to meet with McCarey at the time of publishing. 

The City Council will meet next on Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday. 

(Editor’s note 1/14/26 9 p.m.: This story has been updated with Swank’s response on if he would continue pursuing the three agenda items.)