San Diego Board of Directors Considering Changes in County Meetings – NBC 7 San Diego

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The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will consider a policy change to reduce hate speech and inappropriate behavior at county meetings on Wednesday, following a controversial session last week in which some members of the audience used racist and threatening language.

The turning point, after months of vitriolic town hall meetings, came when Jason Robo, who said he wanted several of the supervisors to be ostensibly dead in response to the county’s continued efforts to fight COVID-19 and led a racial insult against Dr Wilma Wooten, the Earl’s Public Health Director, who is black.

NBC 7’s Dana Griffin spoke with supervisor Nora Vargas and spoke to a speaker about her reaction to the hateful and racist outburst at Wednesday’s meeting.

Supervisor Nora Vargas was one of the county leaders who received Robo’s comments.

You should quit, said Robo. Vargas, I can’t wait for your arteries to get clogged. They don’t do it fast enough. And [Supervisor Nathan Fletcher] you should kill yourself.

For months, there have been similar vile statements during times of public comment on mandates for vaccines that have gone viral. But Tuesday’s racist comment directed at Wooten crossed the line for Vargas, who interrupted Robo and told him to apologize.

I’m sorry, excuse me, you don’t have the right to tell him that, Vargas said. Absolutely not, not under my fucking watch.

NBC 7’s Artie Ojeda shares some of the rebuttals from medical experts who verify the facts at Tuesday’s county meeting.

Fletcher said that following last week’s meeting, while dissent is a healthy part of a functioning democracy, it is sad to see opponents of the vaccination mandate launch personal attacks on members of the board of directors and county officials just because they don’t agree with their policies. .

“Hate speech and the creation of a hostile work environment for county staff will not be tolerated,” Fletcher said in a press release regarding the proposed policy change that was released on Tuesday. “The changes we have proposed to our supervisory board rules and procedures aim to curb the vulgar, racist and profane behavior that has recently occurred during the public comment portion of our meetings. “The actions of some are preventing the good people who really want to participate in their government from coming forward to give their testimony and that has to change,” said Fletcher.

The policy that the council will consider on Wednesday will – if passed – allow the passage of a code of civil speech developed by the National Conflict Resolution Center, take tougher stances against harassment and abuse, give give the board more leeway over the amount of time allocated to public speakers and adopt other procedural changes designed to allow for public participation.

Comparing county supervisors to the Taliban, claiming local leaders are on the verge of opening hell and describing public health officials as Nazis. To say that last night’s supervisory board meeting was controversial would be an understatement. The meeting lasted six hours and was filled with rants from community members about the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I fought for many years for our community to have a voice in our county,” he is quoted in the same press release. “However, the public comments at our meetings have become more vile and aggressive and I will not be a spectator of anti-black, racist and hate speech,” she said. “Our employees must feel safe to do their jobs without harassment. I am committed to fighting for equity and institutional change and it is our responsibility to bring decency, kindness and respect back to civil discourse.”

The policies under review on Wednesday include the following, which were copied from the press release:

Take tougher stances against harassment and abuse, which includes reading a statement on county policy regarding discrimination and harassment in the minutes during the meeting. interrupt recognized speaker or other disruptive acts Adopt a code of civil speech developed by the National Center for Conflict Resolution as an ambitious goal for all meetings Create new settings for group presentations to give them only for land use or jurisdictional matters, unless otherwise authorized by the Chairman of the Board of Directors. In addition, a maximum period of four minutes will be established for individual members of each group within the maximum 10 minutes, ensuring more equitable participation of all group members. limited to one minute per person if there are more than 10 people wishing to comment. The Brown Act allows the management of these time limits under the Government Code section. 54954.3, and similar rules of procedure have been adopted in many California governing bodies. presentations, eliminating potential technical issues caused by the county, or to provide a presentation to the council clerk no later than 24 hours before the meeting Modify the continued permission for remote participation of the public to participate in council meetings

The policies, if supported by a three-vote majority of the board on Wednesday, will take effect immediately, starting from the November 16 board meeting.

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