Morro Bay City Council won’t limit political speech during public comment

The Morro Bay City Council opted Tuesday not to limit political speech after being faced with the option of silencing those who wish to campaign for political office during public comment at council meetings.

At a Jan. 12 council meeting, Morro Bay City Attorney Joseph Pannone cautioned the council against allowing members of the public to make announcements or comments about seeking political office after Morro Bay resident Betty Winholtz, a former council member, announced her intention to run for the city’s mayoral seat in the November election.

Current Mayor Jamie Irons’ term ends in December 2016. In a recent interview with The Tribune, Irons said he has a “strong interest” in running for another term, but he has made no mention of that at City Council meetings.

On Tuesday, Winholtz and other members of the public defended the right to campaign in public comment, saying it’s protected free speech.

“This hasn’t been a problem in the city for 50 years,” Winholtz said in public comment Tuesday. “This is a First Amendment right that shouldn’t be monitored. The council shouldn’t be put in the position of deciphering political from nonpolitical speech.”

Pannone said he cautioned the council on the issue because it could open the door to allowing political activism extending to county, state or national issues that have little connection to Morro Bay and distract from city business. He explained that City Council meetings are venues that, by nature, are designed to allow limited speech focused on city business.

The city’s rules allow members of the public to speak during public comment on matters that are only within the jurisdiction of the council.

“It opens the door for political talk on a much wider level,” Pannone said at Tuesday’s meeting. “Someone could come and talk on any state issue, for example, and you couldn’t stop them.”

On the other hand, Pannone said the city also could open itself up to a lawsuit if it allowed people to speak on certain political topics but not others. Pannone used the example of someone addressing the issue of abortion.

Ultimately, council members didn’t view the question as one worthy of action.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable trying to reel in political discussion,” Councilman Noah Smukler said. “In my experience, you lose almost every time when you try to limit public comment. Often it’s best to sit and listen.”

Council member Christine Johnson said that she believes the voters of Morro Bay indirectly chose to dial down the political discussion in a 2014 vote by widely supporting to hold one election per season instead of two.

“Seventy-six percent of voters in Morro Bay said they didn’t want to talk about politics until they had to,” Johnson said. “They were saying, ‘Let’s keep our politics in a box until it’s time to talk about it.’ ”

Council members suggested that Pannone take a look at drafting small changes to the city’s rules regarding public comment on issues not within the city’s jurisdiction, but the council gave him no specific direction.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Morro Bay City Council won’t limit political speech during public comment."