SD Council Committee Postpones Discussion On Ending Virtual Public Comment

Virtual public comment at San Diego City Council meetings is safe Thursday — at least until September — following a decision to postpone an item at the council’s Rules Committee Wednesday, which would have ended comments via phone or internet streaming.

The item had been proposed by Council President Sean Elo-Rivera in what he said was an effort to make meetings run more efficiently and with more civil discourse. Various groups protested the item, which was pulled during the meeting.

“I am pleased that the item which the Council President was looking to bring forth to remove virtual public comment from city council meetings was pulled from yesterday’s rules committee hearing and it should have,” wrote activist Shane Harris, president of the People’s Association of Justice Advocates. “The kind of policy he was bringing forth is a breach of public trust, an attempt to silence democracy and is a threat to civic engagement.

“While there has been some hate speech, it has not been the majority of virtual public comments. This item should not be brought forth in the future. The council should pass the civility policy on public comments that they were looking at earlier this year. However, let me be very clear that in a democracy we don’t limit civic engagement, we expand it.”

The council has allowed virtual comments for several years, first during the coronavirus pandemic, when restrictions did not allow members of the public to attend meetings.

Elo-Rivera wrote that the change was intended to ensure “San Diegans can be confident business is done with the pace and efficiency they deserve,” and that the “City Council will continue to value and uphold all requirements for open and public meetings ensuring access for all constituents.”

But others saw a lack of fairness in the proposed change. The City Council meets during the work day, which allows some people the ability to attend more than others.

“The system has always been set up to prevent the people from participating in the government public process,” Candice Moreno wrote in a public statement. “Public meetings are often during the hours of the day that most community members cannot participate. As a result, only white retirees, employees who get paid to go to public meetings, and lobbyists can participate in policy making.

“Youth, working class members, BIPOC community members are often left out of the policy that have an impact on their lives,” she added.

When the item is brought before the Rules Committee this fall — if it is again — and it passes both committee and the full council, San Diegans will still be able to submit written comments to the city clerk and email council members individually.

–City News Service