The American Civil Liberties Union in an Aug. 5 letter has accused Montebello City Council members of violating the state’s open-meeting law by not allowing the public criticism of city employees at council meetings.
ACLU of Southern California also said the city illegally requires the public to specifically address the mayor during the public comment period, said ACLU Southern California’s chief counsel Peter Eliasberg and Zoe McKinney, staff attorney at First Amendment and Democracy, in the letter to Mayor Kimberly Cobos-Cawthorne and the city’s four council members.
It impermissibly restricts free speech, including speech of matters of public concern, Eliasberg and McKinney wrote.
“We are prepared to go to court for relief on the two matters,” McKinney said in a Monday, Aug. 8, telephone interview. “You should be able to address your comments to anyone on the board.”
Montebello Councilwoman Angie Jimenez in a Monday, Aug. 8 email, said the ACLU is mischaracterizing a local matter that is “legitimate, conforming, transparent and legal.”
“This stunt is just another way to create negativity for political gain as we enter election season,” Jimenez said.
“Ordinance No. 2443 is similar – if not identical – to the policies and procedures that other municipalities in the surrounding region and LA County either follow or have in place,” she wrote. “The policy adopted in this ordinance pertains to the behaviors of professional decorum and respect only among councilmembers so...
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