Focus on balancing the government’s interest with people’s rights and, if possible, decide in favor of maintaining freedom of expression, advises an expert.
The police chief of St. George, Kyle Whitehead (left), tells the crowd at various times to “calm down,” “chill out” and “relax,” at a City Council meeting on May 4, 2023. This was after the ‘mayor suspended the meeting. due to unruly behavior.
Sant Jordi • Freedom of expression or maintenance of public order, which is more important?
That’s what political pundits are saying in the wake of St. George Mayor Michele Randall’s recent decision to curb incivility by ending the public comment segment at the first City Council meeting of each month.
Previous Mayor Jon Pike implemented the oral public comment period about a decade ago. Rejecting public comment outside of public hearings on specific issues, Randall attributed his decision to growing division and incivility at council meetings, particularly from residents who engage in name-calling and want to vent about “social issues.” that have nothing or little to do. deal with municipal issues.
Randall’s decision drew major backlash at the May 4 City Council meeting from some residents, who accused her and council members of violating their oath of office by reducing the right to the freedom of expression of the first constitutional amendment and called for the removal of the mayor from office.
Vince Brown, director of the Institute of Politics at Utah Tech University, isn’t taking sides in the dispute, but says he understands the mayor’s frustration, after seeing residents raise objections and hurl accusations about matters not related to city business.
Freedom of speech, he said, is not absolute. Like all rights, it comes with an accompanying responsibility and may be subject to government restrictions.
“If people are yelling, if they’re making irrelevant comments, if they’re disrupting the meeting, we have basic common law, constitutional law, which says time, place, and manner restrictions are appropriate if the government has an interest in restricting [speech]” Brown said.
“The government does have an interest in doing its business,” he continued. “How far does this interest limit freedom of expression? Well, that’s the balance we’re always looking for.”
Brown’s advice on the matter: focus on balancing the government’s interest with people’s rights and, if possible, decide in favor of maintaining free speech. He also says some residents need a refresher course on government.
“A lot of people are upset about the things that are happening nationally and that [anger] to the City Council or the State Legislature”, he said. “[People] they’re taking these national struggles to a local level where it’s not really appropriate.”
Sant Jordi’s leaders are not the only ones on the business end of public hostility and incivility.
“It’s happening at all levels of government — local, state and congressional representatives have this problem,” said Zoe Nemerever, assistant professor of political science at Utah Valley University.
Aside from the negative impact of incivility in public meetings, Nemerever said it also serves to deter good people from running for office and becoming public officials. She characterizes dustups at council meetings in St. George, whose members are all registered Republicans, as similar to their counterparts in Arizona.
“It’s probably pretty similar to the culture of the Republicans in Arizona, where you have people like Kari Lake versus more moderate traditional Republicans,” he said.
Lake lost Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial race to Democrat Katie Hobbs, alienating many voters by refusing to concede defeat and filing a lawsuit to overturn the election. He also promoted the “big lie” that Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
Nemerever said the refusal of some elected officials to condemn such behavior has contributed to the spread and acceptance of incivility and other inappropriate behavior, as many Americans take their cues from “elites” like elected officials
Fortunately, there have been few contagion effects from Sant Jordi’s problems in neighboring cities. Washington City Mayor Kress Staheli said his city used to send public comments to council meetings years ago.
“The only thing I could remember from that public comment years ago was residents talking about feral cats and things like that, or no one coming forward,” said Staheli, who was on City Council at the time. “So I think it faded away.”
Land issues in nearby Ivins have sparked public furor at times, but Mayor Chris Hart said he’s pretty strict and doesn’t let things get out of hand. On several occasions, he said, council chambers have been filled and crowds have gathered in the lobby and outside the building, some of them holding signs.
“If there’s a group with signs, I say, ‘Okay, everybody, put your signs up right now so we can see who you are and what you think, and this is the last time we want to see them.'” And so they [put them away].”
