Re: council meeting

[Greg Brown <gregb@alaskapacific.edu>]

Evan or Nancy Holmes wrote:

>
>The telling, yet overlooked, aspect of this hearing occurred when the
>council/mayor/city attorney refused to allow me to speak at this public
>hearing. Randy Fife, city attorney, interrupted my testimony and claimed
>that because I was a member of the Board of Adjustment and that this matter
>might be remanded to the Board I shouldnąt be allowed to testify. Still
>doesnąt make any sense to me.
>
>I donąt believe that one surrenders a right to free speech when accepting an
>appointment to such a body. 
>
   This was a clear violation of your right to
testify. The potential for a "remand" has 
absolutely nothing to do with your right as a 
citizen to testify. Members of citizen boards in
Anchorage routinely testify before the City
Council. And yes, sometimes the issues get
remanded.  I fail to see what public
purpose is served by disallowing your testimony.
Perhaps the city attorney needs a refresher on
First Amendment jurisprudence.  The burden of
proof is on him (represting government) to show 
how the public good is served by limiting 
your speech.  Even if we assume a nexus
between the remand and your testimony, the 
nexus must be more than *potential* or
hypothetical.



-- 
Greg Brown (gregb@alaskapacific.edu)
Associate Professor and Chair
Environmental Science Department
Alaska Pacific University
(907) 564-8267
http://polar.alaskapacific.edu/gregb