Lacey pitches public comment changes in wake of hate speech that marred March meeting
Lacey City Council on Tuesday discussed proposed changes to its public comment process in the wake of racist and anti-semitic language that interrupted an advisory board gathering in March.
That board, the Lacey Equity Commission, was subjected to the hate speech during remote public comment via the online platform known as Zoom.
Following the meeting, the city condemned those comments and pointed out the city was the unfortunate victim of a trend seen throughout the state and country.
City officials acknowledged they can’t abridge a person’s first amendment right to free speech, but governments are allowed to regulate the time, place and manner of speech, provided those regulations are reasonable and content-neutral.
It’s about placing some boundaries on public comment, but not preventing it, City Attorney Dave Schneider said.
Some proposed changes for the council and its advisory boards:
▪ The council currently requires those who wish to comment remotely to pre-register two hours in advance of the meeting. Under the proposal, that approach would be extended to the city’s other boards, including asking for name, city of residence or connection to the city and topic of comments.
▪ Use a timer and limit public comment for individuals to precisely three minutes. Currently, the council doesn’t track public comment that closely, encouraging speakers to keep their comments to around three minutes.
▪ Use the “permission to talk” function in Zoom so that once a person is done speaking, or exceeded their allotted time, they could be muted. That person would still be part of the meeting, but wouldn’t be able to unmute themselves.
▪ Those who wish to speak in person would be required to sign up to do so.
Council member Nic Dunning asked whether it might be better to require remote speakers to turn on their computer cameras, thereby taking away their anonymity.
Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong said in that scenario the city runs the risk of being “Zoom bombed with images.”
Council member Robin Vazquez agreed, saying they don’t want to be blasted with pornography.
“I work for the state and there’s been some things,” she said.
She added: “I think standardizing our practices around (public comment) is protective of the volunteers who are serving on our committees.”
Council member Lenny Greenstein wasn’t thrilled with the idea of requiring in-person speakers to sign in before they do, but it’s also important to be consistent across all platforms, he said.
Council members also questioned how effective it is to require name, residence and topic of comments when that information is so easily falsified.
But Assistant City Manager Kelley-Fong said it’s about “providing a little more information for the (advisory) body receiving it.”
Callers bombard Lacey Equity Commission with hate speech during Monday meeting
