California council backs limits on when residents speak after chants of 'vote them out!'

Chants of "vote them out" and "shame on you" echoed through Long Beach City Hall before the Long Beach City Council voted 6-3 to limit when residents can speak on most agenda items.

Supporters cast the move as a way to shorten meetings and improve access. Critics, however, warned that it will make it harder for residents to influence the decisions that affect them.

Here's what to know

Separate comment periods would remain for public hearings, ordinances, certain budget or tax matters, and appeals. For most other business, though, public testimony would be concentrated in a 90-minute block at the start of the city's 5 p.m. meeting instead of unfolding item by item later in the evening, according to the Long Beach Post.

Defending the proposal, Councilmember Surely Saro said, "We're changing the way we're doing commenting, we're not taking it away." 

If residents are still waiting to speak, the presiding officer — Mayor Rex Richardson, unless he's absent — could extend that initial comment block in 30-minute increments. Speakers would usually get three minutes each, although that allotment could be reduced if the line grows too long.

Before the ordinance can take effect, it still needs a procedural vote. Councilmembers Kristina Duggan, Cindy Allen, and Megan Kerr voted against it, while supporters said the shift could make meetings easier to navigate for residents who cannot stay into the late evening.

More background

Previously, residents had several openings to address the council during a meeting: after roll call and presentations, on the consent agenda, on individual regular agenda items, and again near the end of the night. That arrangement let people comment close to the time a contract, resolution, staff report, or appointment was actually before the council.

For critics, that timing is the point: They say putting nearly all testimony at the beginning of the meeting disconnects public input from the council's deliberations. Long Beach resident Stuart Galloway cited California's Brown Act, saying it guarantees the public an opportunity to comment "before or during consideration of the item" and arguing, "It does not say 'before a whole agenda full of items. … it cannot get any clearer than that!'"

Former councilmember Rae Gabelich, who served from 2004 to 2012, similarly warned that asking residents to speak hours before a vote would weaken their impact. City Council agendas cover issues including housing, land use, city spending, and neighborhood services. Critics argue that if residents are separated from the live debate, they have fewer opportunities to push leaders toward outcomes that reflect community needs.

What's being done?

Supporters presented the policy as an accessibility change. Eighth District Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said some constituents work three jobs and cannot spend hours waiting without knowing when their issue will come up, and she added that she has "repeatedly heard from residents who are not comfortable, are afraid to be in the chamber based on the way people are acting."

That argument also found support among some residents. 

CSULB student Evan James said a defined speaking window would allow him to participate in a way "that doesn't impact my education. … When it's pushed late, it can make it difficult to continue our responsibilities." Karen Reside, a retired president of the Gray Panthers, also supported the resolution and told the chamber, "Part of this process is to listen to each other; I'm not hearing listening."

Gabelich helped organize opposition before the vote, and the session closed with yelling, people turning away from speakers, and police on hand as councilmembers left the dais. As she departed, Gabelich suggested the dispute could move beyond City Hall: "Stay tuned. There will be a lawsuit."

Duggan was also vocal in opposition. She said "listening to constituents is one of our most basic" functions and warned that reducing opportunities to speak moves the council "in the wrong direction."

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