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Starting Monday, the Redwood City Council at its meeting will allow the public to comment virtually, two years after the practice was suspended following disruptions and what some have called “Zoombombing” – when individuals interrupt live meetings with vile or hateful comments.
The decision to reinstate virtual comment now, the Mayor Elmer Martínez Saballos said, is because “online participation is the most practical, or only, way to engage with their City.” This time around, though, there will be “safeguards” intended to maintain “respectful, productive dialogue.”
The mayor will announce the reinstatement of virtual comments at the regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday, Aug. 25, ahead of the consent agenda.
The city instituted an online meeting format, which included virtual comments, during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, but rescinded virtual public comments in the fall of 2023 due to difficulties with disruptive behavior made by online intruders.
Other cities faced similar issues.
In September 2023, an Atherton City Council meeting was bombarded with attendees who filled the Zoom call with hateful, antisemitic speech and images. Other media reported similar interferences around that time in nearby cities, like San Carlos and Pacifica.
While the Redwood City mayor at the time, Jeff Gee, called the pivot away from Zoom public participation a “proactive step” to avoid “vile, racist, anti-semitic” disruptions, some residents feared limiting commentary to email or in-person would stunt vital public discourse.
David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said in the spring that Redwood City is legally obligated to offer virtual public comment when council members participate remotely. Under California’s open meetings law — specifically Government Code Section 54953, subdivision (f) — when a quorum is present in person and one or more members join remotely under “just cause” or “emergency circumstances,” the public must be allowed to observe and comment remotely.
This requirement can be met through a two-way audiovisual platform like Zoom or, at minimum, a two-way phone connection along with a live webcast.
To make a public comment physically at the Council’s Aug. 25 meeting, visit the Council Chamber in City Hall at 1017 Middlefield Rd., complete a speaker card, and wait for the mayor’s cue to come to the podium to deliver a comment.
To do so virtually, log onto Redwoodcity.zoom.us, click “Join” and enter the Meeting ID shown on the agenda. Select the “Raise Hand” feature to request to speak. Those interested in remaining anonymous may rename their profile.
