Norfolk mayor: Ban political talk at council meetings

NORFOLK

It's council election time, a point in the political cycle when partisan speeches from residents and politicians can dominate City Council meetings.

But after hearing such a speech at a council meeting earlier this week, Mayor Paul Fraim suggested it may be time to prohibit residents from endorsing political candidates or criticizing council members during council meetings.

The idea, controversial among the council, has been referred to City Attorney Bernard A. Pishko to investigate whether the city can legally do so.

If Norfolk ultimately decides to limit its "open mic" time, as city leaders call it, it would be the only city in South Hampton Roads to do so. Most have sanctions against personal attacks but no limits on political speech.

Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk have "open mic" sessions at every meeting, and the remarks are televised. Norfolk televises some of its meetings but never the "open mic" portions. Virginia Beach allows for public comment on any subject only once a month and does not televise that portion of the meeting.

Fraim's proposal came after a partisan speech that longtime council critic Danny Lee Ginn directed toward Councilwoman Daun S. Hester during this week's council meeting. Ginn said Hester is unqualified to run against Fraim in the May 4 election in part because she opposed the proposal adopted by the city in 2004 to allow for electing the mayor.

After Ginn was done, Fraim asked Pishko to investigate whether the city can legally "manage" such speeches. "This could happen to any one of us," he said.

Fraim said that Hester's decision to run against him in the May 4 election "creates a new dynamic. The last thing anyone wants to do is limit free speech. But once a speaker launches a personal attack at a member of council, there should be some way to limit that. Every council meeting should not be a political forum."

Experts in the field of free speech say city leaders might have the right to limit political speeches, especially if they can prove that such speeches upset the decorum of meetings.

Quentin Kidd, a professor of political science at Christopher Newport University, said such limits would be akin to cities limiting protests at World Trade Organization meetings to fenced areas. "There are a lot of court cases," he said, "mostly at the federal level, that allow government to regulate speech. "

Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, agrees, to a point.

"The council does have the right to maintain a certain decorum," he said. "If they don't already, they can ban personal attacks on council members and others.

"But sometimes it's very hard to decide what's a personal attack and what's legitimate criticism."

Even if the city can go there, should it?

Hester doesn't think so. She said Fraim's inclination to restrain political speeches "is just wrong."

But she thinks other speeches Ginn has made should be banned. For more than two years, Ginn has spoken against City Manager Regina V.K. Williams during council meetings, calling for her to resign or be fired.

"We have the election in two months and then we move on," she said. "He's been attacking the manager for at least two years. What he said the other night doesn't bother me as much as the consistent attacks on an individual over and over."

She said she has asked the council to prohibit Ginn's repeated attacks on Williams. "I'm disappointed we haven't done that," she said.

Councilman Barclay C. Winn said the council should restrict political speeches if it's legal to do so.

"Council meetings are not a time for campaigning or politicking or expressing views about an individual," he said. "It's a business meeting.

"We have the delicate situation of a seated council person opposing another seated council person. There are plenty of other forums for people to express their views on the election."

However, Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot said limits on speaking would just cause a public outcry.

"When you try to tell people they can't do something, you get a groundswell of people coming down and doing it," he said.

"Sometimes, it's best just to ignore these things. People have attacked me politically. When you enter this arena, you know that's going to happen."

Pilot writers Aaron Applegate, Dave Forster, Mike Saewitz and Linda McNatt contributed to this story.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com