FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” is Bay City (Mich.) Commissioner Alexander Dewitt for leading the charge to remove invocations from commission meetings.
Earlier this month, Dewitt, representing the city’s 6th Ward, proposed a resolution to remove the invocation that opens each City Commission meeting. Commission meetings have included prayer for about 70 years. While introducing his resolution, Dewitt asserted: “When things like the invocations in front of meetings or adding ‘under God’ to the Pledge of Allegiance was done, it was done in the ’50s as a counter to communism in Russia.” Indeed, this practice comes from the same era when US lawmakers added “In God We Trust” to paper money and “Under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.
Several commissioners, including Joseph Charlebois of the 8th Ward and Benjamin Tenney of the 4th Ward, supported removing invocations, citing state-church separation as their reasoning. The resolution was introduced at the beginning of June and was voted on this week. Unfortunately, the resolution failed, despite a 4-2 vote in favor of removing the invocation. Andrea Burney-Obershaw of Bay City’s 3rd Ward abstained from the vote, stating her indifference on the issue (even if she also mentioned that she prays every day and “is going to heaven”).
The Bay City Commission has nine seats, two of which are vacant, so a resolution like Dewitt’s requires five votes to pass. Once the commission fills its vacancies, the resolution will have another opportunity to pass. It is beyond the scope of a city commission to conduct prayer as part of its meetings, sending a clear message to non-adherents that they are not the commission’s favored residents. Invocations do not belong in government proceedings.
We thank Dewitt for his efforts to remove invocations from government meetings and uphold the constitutional separation of state and church. The FFRF Action Fund endorsed Dewitt in 2024 when he first ran for the Bay City Commission. He vocally challenged the commission’s invocation policy before his election and has since proven to be a reliable, strong advocate for the separation of religion and government. Dewitt openly describes himself as an atheist, though he does not consider himself an “anti-theist.” It is crucial that we support nonreligious officials at all levels of government as they fight for our secular democracy and the rights of all nonreligious Americans.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.