Laurie Alderman public comment agenda item 9c—tort reform Good evening, Mayor and Members of the Council.
I am speaking tonight regarding City Manager Damien O'Bid’s agenda item on 'tort reform” and signing a letter of support to Cal Cities. ' Let us be entirely honest about what this item actually is: it is not a policy discussion or supporting Cal Cities. It wasn’t on the tentative agenda.
It is a defensive, bad-faith public relations stunt designed to shield this administration from the consequences of its own unlawful actions.
Look at the timing. Last month, this City was hit with a major federal civil rights lawsuit, Barich v. Cotati, alleging that Mr. O'Bid has weaponized code enforcement to retaliate against local critics. Just last week, this administration escalated its predatory tactics by towing a medically necessary vehicle from a vulnerable household with two wheelchair-dependent individuals—my 89-year-old mother being one of them--violating the federal Community Caretaking Doctrine. When my family requested an accommodation for an impound hearing to be by her bedside, the city sent a biased Police Lieutenant to act as the judge, creating a rigged, unconstitutional conflict of interest that forced a bedridden woman to pay over one thousand dollars under duress.
Now, suddenly, 'tort reform' is on the open agenda, while both of these civil rights violations are hidden away in tonight's closed session. This is a transparent attempt by the City Manager to frame legitimate constitutional lawsuits as 'frivolous' to protect his own job and budget.
Tort reform does not fix a culture of municipal misconduct. If this City wants to stop getting sued, the solution is simple: stop violating the civil rights of your residents. Stop running kangaroo-court administrative hearings that violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Stop seizing emergency vehicles from disabled people in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the ADA. And stop using subordinate staff to issue blanket records denials to hide body-camera footage from the public.
I urge this Council to reject this deceptive tort reform move by City Manager O’Bid. Hold your administration accountable, enforce compliance with federal law, and stop using taxpayer funds to defend the indefensible. Thank you.