Why my council made the heartbreaking decision to end remote public comments

[Behind the Aegis]

Hate-spewing antisemitic and racist groups are actively targeting our public meetings, public officials and democracy itself. It is happening in our own backyard, in nearly every Bay Area county, and in many other communities up and down California.

In recent weeks, we’ve had dozens of these orchestrated, venomous attacks. While the groups certainly like to target political bodies with Jewish members, these brazen antisemites target and attack any public meeting that allows for remote public comment, which was greatly expanded in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I am the mayor pro tem of El Cerrito, an East Bay city of 26,000. I am proudly Jewish, and my careers as both a public administrator and in local elected politics are rooted in the Jewish values ingrained in me from an early age: treating all with dignity and respect, caring for the planet and creating public spaces that promote tolerance and peace. As a direct descendant of a Holocaust survivor, I carry the trauma of genocide and acutely know what happens if we don’t protect democracy.

After Walnut Creek City Council member Kevin Wilk and I were featured in an NBC Bay Area News clip about Walnut Creek being early targets of antisemitic remote calls in June, we were both subjected to disgusting online trolling. Now the remote call-in tactic has gone viral and seems to be everywhere.

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[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[NJCher]

2. When dealing with public officials

It’s very important to be civil and polite. I’ve gotten traction on certain ordinances and laws I’ve gotten through and the feedback I get is that this makes a difference. These people have the power to enact or not enact your proposal, so why would you treat them badly? Even with no law or proposal, they are doing a much needed public service.

Yet the stories I have heard about how they are treated would disgust you, just like in this story. Bringing racist and ethnic remarks into it makes it even worse. I’m glad this was published. We need to be aware of what they’re up against.

[byronius]

3. Weird and wrong.

And sad.

[Old Crank]

4. Just haters

Nothing to add to any issue but invective. When I left CA and the Sunnyvale planning commission we had none of that. You had to be respectful or your mic was cut. You had some time in public comments at the start of the meetings to talk about nonagenda items but you werren't allowed off topic during the agenda items.

Not sure how it is going now. I'll ask the mayor and see what he says.

Same with school boards. You need to ask if the people are in the district or why they think they should have a say in the district.

[AntivaxHunters]

5. This sounds like the work of ...

Mom's For Liberty & TPUSA.
It's also happening all across the country.
This is their playbook.
And they are running candidates in city council races all over.

https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2023/09/08/moms-for-liberty-takes-aim-at-charleston-city-council-seats/]