EMERYVILLE — When the Emeryville City Council became the latest elected body in the Bay Area to be targeted by a slew of racist, antisemitic and homophobic remarks, city leaders were ready — and for the first time used a new policy that allows them to cut off public speakers who use hate speech.
What started as a typical city council meeting here on March 5 — beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a proclamation dubbing March as American Red Cross Month — quickly went awry after a handful of remote participants hijacked the public comment period to spout what one council member described as vitriolic rhetoric toward Jewish, Black, transgender and queer people.
“The fact of the matter is we live in a world that is not perfect,” Mayor Courtney Welch told this news organization on Monday. “They’re just people wanting to be harmful.”
The first of the five commenters from Tuesday’s meeting made it through the allotted two minutes given to speakers, using his time to disavow Israel and violence inflicted upon Gaza without being cut off, though Welch said he “teetered toward the line.”
The second public speaker was the first to get virtually bounced, after sharing antisemitic views. Welch cut off the third speaker as well, this time for using a homophobic slur while attacking transgender women who she said were co-opting Women’s History Month. That speaker also hurled a racial slur at Welch, after the city’s first Black woman mayor called for her time to be cut off.
The following two speakers — the last of the night — were also stopped after attempting to use their time to share antisemitic and racist comments.
Council members were visually upset and appeared uncomfortable, with Councilmember John Bauters walking away from the dais and Councilmember Kalimah Priforce stepping off to the side.
Welch sternly reminded the public of the council’s policy adopted last year during a string of similar “Zoombombings.” The policy gives council the authority to cut off speakers who veer away from sharing opinions on city operations or social issues to make abusive, harassing remarks.
“We welcome criticisms and comments about (our) policies and programs, but what we will not tolerate is discriminatory statements,” Welch said in an interview.
The policy hadn’t been used since its adoption in April 2023. Welch, who’s been on the council since 2021, couldn’t recall a moment when doing so would have been necessary.
That all changed last Tuesday. City Clerk April Richardson noticed some names of listed speakers appeared to be fake and made to sound offensive when read out loud. Richardson informed City Manager Paul Buddenhagen who warned Welch, and avoided reading some of the names in full when calling on speakers.
“We were all working as a team to make sure we’re protecting staff and the public from having to be subjected to this type of behavior,” Welch later said.
The incident is part of a trend seen across the Bay Area in which people from wherever call into city meetings to disrupt them. In response, some cities — Antioch, El Cerrito, Fremont, Sacramento, Redwood City and San Mateo — cut off the public’s ability to provide live remote comment. Those cities have limited the public to in-person or email comments.
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The decisions rolled back a major accessibility tool expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person gatherings were greatly limited. Welch noted Emeryville civic engagement increased greatly thanks to meetings being shared online.
As for knowing when to cut a speaker off or not, Welch said she pulls from her experience as a Black woman who often has to parse bigoted subtext while reading derogatory comments made about various communities locally. She doesn’t know where last Tuesday’s speakers are from, but acknowledged some residents may share their perspectives.
Still, she said, the vast majority of people here would not fathom making such derogatory remarks. If someone does again, Welch said the city is ready to respond swiftly.
“I was prepared and knew that listening, remaining calm, if I remained calm and removed them immediately, it would help keep everyone else calm,” Welch said. “If you cross the line you will be removed. You are not free to make harmful speech and make the workplace for our staff hostile.”
