Common Council: City of Oshkosh to Sponsor Oshkosh Pride

OSHKOSH, WI- (WISS) – The Oshkosh Common Council approved a resolution Tuesday night that will make the city a sponsor of the Oshkosh Pride event scheduled to take place at the Leach Amphitheatre in June. 

The vote to sponsor the non-profit event was not unanimous. The vote was 5 to 2 for the sponsorship with Council Members Paul Esslinger and Jacob Floam voting against.

According to the resolution, sponsoring Oshkosh Pride will require no city cash outlay and will allow the non-profit organization free use of the Leach Amphitheatre.

Oshkosh Pride is a non-profit whose mission is to improve the mental health outcomes of the LGBTQ+ community in the area. The upcoming event will be the 4th Annual Oshkosh Pride.

For Sponsorship of Oshkosh Pride

Council Member DJ Nichols gave the Common Council a brief history of Pride, how it celebrates a community no longer hiding in the shadows, and the history associated with it. He also said that supporting a non-revenue generating event makes sense. 

“ I think we can differentiate as a council between organizations that are profit generating, like Waterfest, and organizations that are trying to do something really good in our community for a group of people that might not otherwise have the chance to identify their community in Oshkosh,” said Nichols. “I think we do a really good job as a local government of not only ensuring that people have homes but also making sure that they feel like they’re home. This event accomplishes that. It wouldn’t otherwise exist in a place like Oshkosh.”

Oshkosh Deputy Mayor Karl Buelow said he has attended the past three Oshkosh Pride celebrations, and supported the city being a sponsor.

“As a cis straight white man here in town, I thought it was a fabulous celebration of love and caring about the community,” Buelow said. “It is so fun to see people in an element where they feel loved and enjoy what is going on around them is one of the coolest things that a person can be part of.”

Against Sponsorship of Oshkosh Pride

Council Members Floam and Esslinger each brought forward the argument of how the City would decide which events it would sponsor by allowing free use of the Leach Amphitheatre as opposed to the events it will charge for use.

“I think this kind of opens up Pandora’s Box. Then we’re deciding on who and who should not have to pay fees. And that’s a road that we should not go down,” Esslinger said. “I mean, if you allow this group to not pay the fees and the insurance, then where does it stop. Everyone will come forward and want the right to have it then.” 

Floam called sponsoring Oshkosh Pride, a mission-creep of government. 

Both Floam and Esslinger said they supported the event itself, but not the City’s sponsorship of it.

Oshkosh’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee recommended that the City sponsor Oshkosh Pride.

Other Common Council Meeting Activity

During the public comment section, one resident spoke to Council Members about the increases in Water and Sewer fees the city is charging.

“Last year, we just increased them 18 percent. It’s starting to get a little hard to live in the City of Oshkosh with all of the increases of the property taxes, the large increase in the water,” said Oshkosh resident Nora Norman. “I mean we went from paying $35 a month to over $80 a month for the same usage – in a year and a half. It’s kind of ridiculous.”

The Common Council also had the first reading of an ordinance amendment that will prohibit water skiing, wakeboarding, aquaplaning and similar activities in the Fox River in Oshkosh. The Council will vote on that ordinance at its March 25, 2025 meeting.