Elmira artist and activist Julian Raven, who is no stranger to litigation, has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Elmira for what he perceives is a free speech issue and a violation of constitutional rights.
At issue is the decision by city officials to eliminate the second of two public speaking opportunities at City Council meetings. The first opportunity is for discussion of items that are on the meeting agenda. The second session gave audience members a chance to bring up any topic they wished.
Raven said the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, is not merely about one meeting rule or one speaker. It is about whether the people of Elmira will retain the power to speak directly, publicly, and face-to-face to their government.
“Free speech is the foundation underneath every other right,” he said. “If citizens cannot speak, they cannot defend their property rights, their due process rights, their Second Amendment rights, their voting rights, or any other liberty. Once government controls the forum, narrows the speech, or removes the citizen’s ability to confront elected officials in public, every other right becomes harder to defend.”
Raven’s suit asks the court to suspend enforcement of the public comment restriction, restore the public participation opportunity pending final adjudication, and to declare the city’s action likely violates the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
What prompted Raven to file lawsuit at this time
Raven said he plans to publicly announce plans to run for mayor of Elmira in June, and that’s one of the motivating factors behind the lawsuit.
A major goal of that campaign will be to reform the city’s system of government, making it more accountable to the people by eliminating the city manager/council model and returning to a full-time elected mayor accountable directly to the people, he said.
Raven said his original plan was to present the Elmira City Council members with the opportunity to amend the charter themselves.
After learning the city had shut down a public comment section at council meetings, Raven claims he approached the city clerk to be placed on the agenda and was told he could not speak. Then he attempted to address the council directly at its May 18 session, but said he was not allowed to speak because of the change in public comment policy.
“As I prepared to launch a campaign about restoring civic power to the people, the city gave me the clearest possible example of why that restoration is necessary,” Raven said. “They shut down the forum. They blocked access to the agenda. Then they silenced speech before the elected body. That is not local democracy. That is exactly where the fight begins.”
Elmira mayor responds to free speech concerns
Elmira Mayor Dan Mandell hasn’t seen Raven’s lawsuit yet but he said there are important reasons the city decided to drop the second public comment section from City Council agendas, and it has nothing to do with stifling free speech.
A lot of municipalities don’t have public comment portions at their meetings and it isn’t a legal requirement, he said. The important thing is to conduct business openly and allow the public to witness how issues develop, he said.
Mandell said it was important to preserve the first public comment opportunity so people could discuss agenda items, but added the second session where any topic was allowed sometimes got out of hand.
“We’ve had some disruptions,” he said, noting the change started with the first meeting in April.
Regardless of the ability to speak at council meetings, Mandell said residents, business owners and others have plenty of other opportunities to provide feedback or ask questions of him and any other city officials.
“They can call us, they can email, they can meet with us. There are always options,” he said. “We’re not trying to keep people from bringing up issues. We’re just trying to maintain order at meetings.”
What’s next in Raven lawsuit?
Raven’s suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, and it has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Meredith A. Vacca, according to court filings.
In addition to the City of Elmira, the lawsuit names Mandell and City Council members Corey Cooke, Joseph Duffy, Gary Brinn, Jackie Wilson and Nanette Moss as defendants in their official capacities.
Raven is also currently involved in a legal dispute with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health over previous industrial contamination concerns on property he owns on Baldwin Street in Elmira.
He has also been involved in federal lawsuits against the Smithsonian Institute and District of Columbia.
Raven said his lawsuit against the city is intended to defend not only his own rights, but the rights of every Elmira resident.
He added the timing of the lawsuit, his mayoral campaign launch, and the upcoming Independence Day season is fitting.
“This is exactly what Happy Birthday America means,” Raven said. “It means the people still have rights. It means City Hall still answers to the Constitution. It means citizens do not need permission to speak to their government.”
READ RAVEN’S FULL LAWSUIT DOCUMENT HERE
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira artist sues city over restriction of public comment at meetings
Reporting by Jeff Murray, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
