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CCM <br />Good evening Mayor and Council. <br />I come before you today to talk to you about an incident which occurred at the <br />previous meeting — on Dec. 3ra <br />You could call this a "point of order" concerning a particular agenda item. For <br />reference it was number 60A — my objection does not concern the substance of <br />the item. It concerns how the chair - the Mayor - handled public speaking for <br />this item. <br />Among the rights of Americans enumerated in the Constitution's Bill of Rights is <br />the right to freedom of speech. The First Amendment tells us that government <br />shall not abridge our freedom of speech and our right to petition the <br />government for a redress of grievances. <br />When Item 60A was announced by the Mayor he went directly to asking for a <br />motion and a second to quickly approve the item — without checking or asking if <br />there were any members of the public who wanted to address the Council on <br />the item. <br />Members of the public had a right to speak to the Council concerning this item <br />and that right was abused. If I had not walk toward the dais in an upset manner <br />and indicated that there were members of the public who wanted to speak, we <br />would have gotten rolled over and not allowed to speak. <br />I can't stand here and say that this was done intentionally. I can say that the <br />Mayor has had many years of running Public meetings. He knows that some <br />agenda items are more controversial than others and he knows who is in the <br />audience and may wish to speak on a controversial item. I can tell you that <br />doing this amounts to a violation of Constitutional civil rights and the California <br />Brown Act whether intentional or not. <br />I ask you all to see that our Public meetings are conducted in a manner which is <br />respectful of the rights of the Public. <br />Thank you, <br />Mike Tardif <br />Santa Ana Resident <br />Dec. 17, 2019 <br />