A frequent critic of Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson told Gilbert Town Council at its Oct. 18 meeting the members will be served with a lawsuit the next day over council’s decorum rules.
Brandon Ryff, who Peterson ejected from the Sept. 20 council meeting for violating those rules, told council rules violated the First Amendment and were not enforceable under state law.
As a result, Ryff told council he was filing suit.
“I am here to defend our rights as Americans,” he said.
Ryff acknowledged Oct. 18 that council can place reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on the public so that its meetings are not disrupted but argued that merely waving a sign does not rise to that level.
State law prevents council members from responding to citizens during public comments. The public-comment period went off without applause or signs.
For its part, council held an executive session meeting Oct. 17 about decorum rules and unveiled new rules at the Oct. 18 meeting. The rules are based on those used by the Arizona Legislature and were posted outside facility before the meeting.
Peterson credited Yentes for spearheading a spirited discussion on how to best conduct the communications from citizens portion of the meeting. She apologized to the public for their frustrations in not understanding the decorum rules.
“We were operating on longstanding precedence, instead of clearly communicating in writing the expectations to you,” she said. “Your feedback was received, and you were heard. We’ve been updating our postings for the past several meetings to make things more clear.”
Council also voted 6-1 to establish a subcommittee that would explore policies, best practices and other resources to help promote civil discourse in public meetings that balance the town’s ability to conduct effective meetings while ensuring the public’s right to participate and desire to be heard. Laurin Hendrix voted in dissent without giving reason.
Peterson said she expected to appoint Council Member Kathy Tilque as the subcommittee’s chair and also include Council Member Yung Koprowski and one of the council members elected to join the council in January. That could be Jim Torgeson, Chuck Bongiovanni or the winner of the November runoff between Bill Spence and Bobbi Buchli. Two staff members also would serve on the subcommittee.
Tilque said the subcommittee likely would work into next spring before giving recommendations as it would be important to get public input for the subcommittee to consider.
Ryff’s history with mayor
Ryff filed an ethics complaint against Peterson last year about a Morrison Ranch apartment proposal, charging that Peterson had failed in her responsibility as a public official to treat residents with fairness and respect. An independent investigator found the complaint without merit.
Ryff also has frequently used the “communications from citizens” period of meetings to criticize Peterson.
It came to a head at the Sept. 20 meeting when Peterson asked that three people holding up signs in the back of the Atlas Auditorium at the Public Safety Training Facility, site of the town council meeting, be ejected from the meeting. Ryff was among those ejected.
Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes, who conducts the portion of the meeting with communications from citizens, previously had asked that people not only refrain from applause after comments but also not wave or use signs that had been brought into the auditorium.
Other items
Council approved on a 5-2 vote a $7.42 million contract with Core Construction for the construction of a police dispatch center expansion. Yentes said she supported the expansion but was concerned about the cost and larger scope of the project over what was previously agreed upon. She and Hendrix voted in dissent.
Council approved on a 6-1 vote a minor General Plan amendment to change the zoning of 14.47 acres of land on the northeast corner of Recker and Williams Field roads from Gateway Village Center zoning to 4.95 acres for a shopping center and 9.52 acres for low-density multifamily housing. The development is called “Fred’s Place” after Fred Gieszl, who has farmed the land since the 1970s and who will remain involved as a developer. Hendrix voted in dissent.
Note: This story has been corrected to reflect how the people ejected from the council meeting Sept. 20 were handling their signs.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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