Livermore's Former Farmers Market Manager Apologizes

LIVERMORE, CA — The former Livermore Farmer's Market manager issued an apology after a vendor was ordered to stop distributing LGBTQ+ pride flags deemed a safety threat by management.

California Farmers' Markets Association Executive Director Gail Hayden, who resigned from managing the Livermore market Tuesday, said in a statement from that she regrets her actions.

"While we were focused on enforcing the market's rules, we neglected to see the bigger picture Dan was expressing with his pride flags," she said. "The LGBTQ+ community deserves a tolerant environment to express and celebrate their identity."

Dan Floyd, owner of Dan Good Cookies, was handing out free pride flags with Livermore Pride Executive Director Amy Pannu at his vendor booth during the June 7 market, in celebration of June as Pride Month. A viral video showed Hayden telling him that he was violating market rules and saying that "the mission of the market is not your political point of view."

The City of Livermore had also denounced the interaction, saying it "is not reflective of Livermore's values of inclusion and respect."

Hayden told Patch that groups of kids were playing with the flags as if they were swords. Managers were worried that the flags could be a safety threat and they could be held liable for any injuries, so they asked them to hand out the flags in a nearby area where CFMA could not be held liable, Hayden said.

In Hayden's statement, she said that she should not have allowed the conversation to escalate and that CFMA "recognizes that the pride flag and the LGBTQ+ community that what it represents is not a political ideology."

CFMA said it will engage in equity training and seeks to foster a dialogue with its staff and vendors. Nobody should feel unsafe doing their job or celebrating their identity.

"My actions on June 7 offended the LGBTQ community which was definitely not my intention," she said. "For that I am very sorry."

Dan Good Cookies thanked the Bay Area for its support on Tuesday. The store received so much business that it was completely out of stock Tuesday, closed Wednesday to catch up and had to cancel online orders due to the increase in demand.

Livermore's farmers market will not open this Thursday or Sunday as the city searches for a new manager.