Delaney said in an interview with FLORIDA TODAY after the meeting that what may have helped spark Steele's comments was her saying "no sir, no sir" to him, off microphone, after Steele started his response. She then noted that she was a candidate for County Commission ― a political remark that is not allowed anymore by public speakers at commission meetings.
Delaney said she left the meeting room willingly, although she was followed out of the room and into the building lobby by a deputy.
Port St. John resident Stel Bailey was the next speaker, and continued the criticism of commissioners, saying she was "disgusted by the behavior happening in the board room. It is appalling."
Cocoa resident, Kristin Lortie, followed. Initially, Lortie was told by Steele that she could not have other residents stand with her and hold up photos while she spoke.
Steele then asked Brevard County Attorney Morris Richardson for a legal opinion, and Richardson said it was not specifically against the rules, as long as it was not disruptive. Richardson said it's up to the chair's discretion on how to handle the matter. Steele then allowed others to stand with Lortie, saying: "I'm going to go ahead and allow this nonsense to continue."
In a subsequent interview, Richardson said signs and photos are permitted, as long as they are small enough to be held by one person and do not block the view of other people in the audience.
Also during the meeting, two Orange County residents were escorted from the meeting room after they initially would not leave voluntarily. They used their public comment time to question the authenticity of the NASA space program, with one claiming the space shuttle Challenger explosion that killed seven astronauts in 1986 did not happen, and the crew actually is alive. Commissioners justified cutting off their comments because commission rules state that speakers can only address an issue that is under the jurisdiction, authority or control of the County Commission.
When they continued arguing about their right to address commissioners on this issue, claiming that Steele was taking away their freedom of speech, Steele directed a deputy to escort them out of the commission chambers.
'Crossed the line of decorum'
Richardson said he plans to have the memo Steele requested ready for commissioners to consider in time for their next meeting on July 9.
Richardson contends that "the recent behavior of certain public speakers has crossed the line of decorum, and the orderly conduct of board meetings in a way I don't recall regularly happening in the past."
The May 21 conflicts between commissioners and speakers signed up for public comment wasn't the first in recent weeks between commissioners and members of the public.
During a May 7 discussion related to county funding for the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, County Commission Vice Chair Rita Pritchett asked a sheriff's deputy to escort a member of the audience, Sandra Sullivan of South Patrick Shores, out of the meeting room for making comments to the board from the audience.
Sullivan was concerned that the commission was about to vote on the item without hearing her public comments.
"If there's any more outbursts, I'm going to have somebody escort you out," Pritchett said. "We've got to do business right now. We just can't keep doing this. We don't talk out from that area when we're having conversations. It's just not good atmosphere. We can't get business done. We can't have people talking when the commissioner is talking."
Steele added: "Any more outbursts from you in the audience by yelling or screaming at the dais, we're going to have you removed."
Commissioner Rob Feltner intervened, realizing that part of the issue was that there was confusion about whether Sullivan had submitted a comment card to speak on the issue. Sullivan was allowed to stay, and was given her public comment time.
'The devil is in the details'
Jacksonville-based First Amendment attorney Ed Birk said what's happening in Brevard parallels what is happening in other Florida counties and cities.
"Citizens want to be heard," Birk said. "That's their right."
Birk said that, even if a public speaker is critical of the government body or a particular government employee, or talks about an issue that isn't part of what the government body has jurisdiction over, "the safer course of action is to let the person go on for three minutes" and then move on to the next speaker, rather than halting the person's comments.
Birk also doesn't believe the speaker should be restricted from indicating in passing that he or she is a candidate for elective office, as long as the comments don't turn into a campaign stump speech.
Where Birk would draw the line is if someone is disrupting the meeting, throwing things or threatening violence.
There is a need "to maintain order," Birk said. "The devil is in the details."
Delaney said she is worried about the law enforcement officers who are present at County Commission meetings to assure public safety being put in the middle of the dispute between commissioners and some members of the public.
"The deputies are not there to be the First Amendment police," Delaney said.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
1 comment:
Speaking of commission, you'll notice that they'll approve churches all day long but not housing for the homeless and low income housing. That should tell you something about not only the GOP but the church. Instead of pushing political leaders to put a roof over the heads of the needy, they'll they'd rather put roofs over the heads of the delusional for short periods of time and build country clubs dedicated to things not backed by any proof or evidence. Is that what Jesus did? Build large spaces for grifting and socializing? No, he fed people and healed the sick for free.
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