SLO supervisors return to virtual meetings — and are called out for being ‘cowardly’

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has returned to virtual meetings — to the disgust of a handful of public speakers who vented during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s Zoom session.

“The pandemic is over,” the first speaker announced.

Another took Supervisor Bruce Gibson — the new board chairman — to task for appearing “live in person” at the Atascadero Library last week.

“That’s pretty hypocritical,” she said. “It goes to show that this is to keep the public from coming together for a meeting.”

(For the regard, Gibson held office hours at the library on Thursday — before the decision was made to cancel in-person meetings on account of the fast-spreading omicron variant.)

The piece de resistance came from Gary Kirkland — a well-known libertarian who has run for public office in the past.

“I see this as a good example of cowardice when people are afraid to do something,” he said. “Those of us who are not afraid of dying should be allowed to come to a meeting.”

As outrageous is these remarks are, they aren’t anything new.

Welcome to the wild world of public comment — which can sometimes rival social media in terms of spreading falsehoods that go unchallenged.

Due to open meeting act requirements, public officials are limited in how they can respond to comments from the public. Typically, they allow speakers to say pretty much whatever they like, and we’ve heard some doozies over the past year.

The election was stolen.

Vaccine “passports” are coming.

Teachers are using critical race theory to indoctrinate even the youngest students.

COVID vaccines don’t work.

Face masks are dangerous.

Fortunately, the Board of Supervisors didn’t bend on Tuesday; the vote to switch to virtual meetings passed 5-0.

It was the right thing to do, especially given the sobering report SLO County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein gave the board; she described the current surge as the “largest and steepest” we’ve experienced.

Over the holidays, the county was averaging between 400 and 500 cases per day, compared to between 30 and 40 in early December.

The omicron variant isn’t as severe as the others, and that means a smaller percentage of people are getting seriously ill. But because so many are becoming infected, the number in need of hospitalization is still high.

“The majority will pull through this disease, but we need to be diligent to protect vulnerable people,” Borenstein said.

People are being asked to postpone elective surgeries; to avoid gatherings; and of course, to mask up and to vaccinate if they haven’t already done so.

While the Gary Kirklands of the world may not think it’s necessary to take precautions — they aren’t cowards, after all! — they aren’t just putting themselves at risk.

Given how easily omicron is spreading, they can inadvertently infect others who aren’t so willing to risk their health for the sake of a principle.

The Board of Supervisors deserves credit for placing priority on protecting public health.

And keep in mind, members of the public can still comment from the privacy of their homes, either online or by phone. If anything, virtual meetings are more convenient than attending in person and sometimes waiting hours on end for a turn at the speaker’s podium.

Bottom line: Zoom meetings are a technological blessing.

Omicron is a beast.

And despite what you might hear during public comment, this pandemic is far from over, and there’s nothing cowardly about taking all necessary precautions.

This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 12:51 PM.