Speak Up: Scottsdale City Council to vote on changes to public comment

Metro Creative Connection

Tell Us What You Think

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Scottsdale residents may soon have an abbreviated opportunity to speak their minds at city council meetings. J. Graber’s report in the Scottsdale Independent that the council will consider a number of measures that critics say limit public input at future meetings generated numerous responses on social media. Here’s a selection of what readers had to say:

From Facebook

• “If a ban on speech and implementation of censorship passes, it’ll be a short-term, chest-thumping moment for a majority that won’t be such forever, nor for long. Cowards silence speech. The brave listen, learn and engage in dialogue.” — Don Scott
• “Not a blue tie team member or a red tie team member; all speech should be heard, whether you like it or not.” — Kevin Lentini
• Buried in the proposed changes are two items—5.4 and 5.7—that would strip the mayor of her authority to call or cancel meetings. This isn’t a minor procedural update. This is a fundamental shift in power that the mayor has held since these rules were established in 2011. For over a decade, this authority has been part of the mayor’s role. Now, in what can only be described as a coordinated power grab by city staff and unnamed council members operating behind closed doors, they’re quietly removing it. Why now? Why the secrecy about who’s pushing this? And why are they trying to slip this through without proper scrutiny? This isn’t reform. This is a calculated move to weaken the mayor’s office and by extension, the voice of the voters who elected her.” — Susan Wood
• “First it was Fountain Hills, now Scottsdale, coming to a city near you, because if one does it they all want to do it. if one can get away with it, they all want to limit public input.” — David Solo
• “What’s with these councils that are so scared of the people that elected them?” — Nathan Sorenson
• “Pay close attention to which council members vote to curtail public comment. Make sure you vote against them at the next election!” — John Washington
• “This feels like the general plan fiasco all over again, where several members gave direction to the city manager to direct staff to make massive changes to the general plan. After the public outrage, no one would either take accountability or root out who on Staff directed whom and why. I urge everyone not just to oppose this, but to demand answers. This didn’t ‘just happen.’ Someone on council clearly instructed the city manager to act. That councilor is anti-democracy, and regardless of their platform, they need to be held accountable for this betrayal of public trust.” — Jason Alexander
• “So they can do us dirty behind closed doors.” — Cary Gleason

From NextDoor

• “Leave things as they are! You all supposedly work for the people, so sit down and hear what people think about the city.” — Douglas Russell
• “Arizona is systematically removing the power of the citizen vote. You can’t vote on zoning issues because of this same council. Corporations will own your house and you will pay your rent back to your boss because of all of these councils. The water bills will polish you off and these guys don’t want to hear it.” — Josh Barkley
• “This comes after that last shakedown a few months ago; guess they didn’t like the comments. What does the Attorney General’s office say about this change?” — Diane J.
• “They grew the city too much. Too many people here now that want to share their concerns and make requests, but due to the endless supply of building permits more people now than ever are showing up at the meetings and they don’t want to listen, or hear, they rarely listen. It’s a formality that annoys them. They don’t care what you think or want, you’re just a nuisance to be brushed off.” — Dan L.
• “Elect us — but we don’t want you to hold us accountable.” — Kurt Kreiger
• “They simply cut the time down for 3 minutes to 2 minutes. I don't think that’s exactly drastic.” — Tom F.
• “Seems people in elected office fail to understand that we have a representative government. Knowing what your constituents want is vital to genuine leadership. This is an appalling situation.” — Laurie Coe