CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City leaders continue to reinforce their policy for Corpus Christi City Council's public comment. However, some community members believe they are only executing their right to freedom of speech.
Specifically at Tuesday's city council meeting, things took an interesting turn.
“I started coming in and then I started seeing a bunch of clowns and I was like ‘I’m in the right place," Marilena Garza, founder of the Free Store, said while dressed in a clown suit.
For months, city leaders emphasized the city's rules of decorum for public comment. City attorney Miles Risley read the terms during the meeting.
“The mayor and council members should be referred to by title and or title surname," Risley said. "All remarks must be addressed to the mayor and the city council and not to the council members as individuals.”
Garza spoke to council by addressing them as "clowns in a circus," while discussing her concerns with city leader's decision-making. But Risley quickly reminded her of the policy.
Risley stated that Garza's phrase 'you guys' was not a proper way to speak to the council.
“Thanks Miles, I enjoy you interrupting me every time. You’re such a good guy," Garza replied.
Another resident refused to state their address before speaking and only provided the district they live in. There has been concern for safety with providing addresses publicly.
“Our policy states that citizens state their name and address, not their district," a city staff member said.
Last week, KRIS 6 News spoke with the city secretary about this policy. Now, Mayor Paulette Guajardo said she is reviewing this policy after a conversation with the city secretary.
"I think it’s just something that’s just been in place forever," Guajardo said. "But I understand why people don’t want to do that. So bear with us, we’re addressing it.”
KRIS 6 News also spoke with Bill Aleshire, a Texas attorney who is an expert on the Open Meetings Act Law. He recently won two lawsuits against the City of Austin for issues related to this law where in one case, a judge ruled the city could not move forward with a charter election, due to violations.
He said there is no law that states a resident is out of order by addressing a council member or city staff during public comment.
“That’s not a reasonable rule to say you can’t talk to a council member and say to others, ‘hey I don’t think you’re doing a very good job.’ They don’t own that government. The citizens do. It’s freedom of speech," Aleshire said.
He also added that there is no requirement for community members to provide an address before speaking with the council.
“There is no requirement at all in the open meetings act that they must reveal publicly and say publicly their home address. It’s one thing to say ‘are you a resident of this town or not?' I bet the council members don't want their home addresses out there in public. We're just living in more dangerous times and they ought to be more sensitive to that," Aleshire said.
KRIS 6 News reached out to the City of Corpus Christi on Friday to speak with city attorney Miles Risley. The city responded but did not address the specific issues the station presented. Instead, they highlighted the section of the law that allows the city to make reasonable rules.
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