Counties looking at how to handle outbursts

Whether it’s podiums being thrown at open meetings in Southern California or verbal confrontations in rural communities, the California State Association of Counties is wondering what to do about it.

That’s according to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Howard, who informed the board Nov. 9 that he attended a recent meeting of CSAC to discuss the issue.

“There’s been a lot of unrest in the state and a lot of political division - not only party division, but just a preference on where you want to be politically,” Howard said.

Howard added it was an interesting discussion because it all rests around issues of the First Amendment and free speech, “so the CSAC body is trying to slowly walk into the discussion of this and how it may or may not influence legislation in the future that addresses some of these concerns in this day of political discourse.”

In the past month, some residents in Del Norte and Curry counties have yelled out from their seats or while standing at the podium during open meetings, slammed doors when leaving meeting halls and a security guard was asked to escort one attendee from last week’s Crescent City Board of Harbor Commissioners meeting after referring to the board as “evil.”

“Fortunately for us in Del Norte County we don’t see a lot of that - people still get along here,” said Howard. “It’s because we are a small town and we are neighbors. But, it’s not always like that in big cities. Hopefully, we can continue to act fairly and civilly with each other.”