AR 12 SUPP CORRESPONDENCE — Pasadena City Council, April 4, 2022

McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Sarah Eggers
Sent: Friday. April 01, 2022 11:45 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Public comment at city council meetings
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Hello.

My name is Sarah Eggers and I live and own a small business in the city of Pasadena. Additionally, one of my children attends a PUSD school and the other 2 will when they are old enough.

I recently learned that the mayor plans to cut the public comment period at the beginning of the city council meetings for non-agendized items and limit comment only until the end of the meeting.

I am upset with this decision as it seems an obvious attempt to limit the ability of the citizenry to make their voices heard, and makes it difficult if not impossible for parents of young children, the elderly, working people Who may be tired after a long day of work, and many others to participate fully in civic life and hurts peoples' trust in our elected officials.

I ask you to reverse course and keep the format of public comment as it has been, with comment available at the beginning and end of meetings.

Thank you,
Sarah Eggers
Sarah Eggers, LMFT, ATR, MFA
pronouns she/her/hers
LMFT#100220
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1 Item 12
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Jennifer Collins
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2022 11:01 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Public Comment at the Beginning of Council Meetings (4/4 meeting, item 12) CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Good afternoon,
As a Pasadena resident in District 5, I am writing to ask you to uphold the inclusion of Public Comment at the beginning of Council meetings.

Welcoming our voices at the beginning of Council meetings holds symbolic significance, serving as a reminder that the Council members represent their constituents. Moving us to the end minimizes our opportunity to be heard, and privileges those who have more time and resources to devote to participating.

The members of the Council should also have the opportunity to vote on this significant change the Mayor has proposed, as it impacts their constituents so meaningfully. I urge the Council members to voice their disagreement with this unfair change.

If there is to be any equity during the public's engagement in Council meetings, Public Comment should remain at the beginning. Please allow the people of Pasadena the ongoing opportunity to have our voices heard.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Collins
1 04/04/2022
Item 12
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
Julie
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2022 3:33 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Public Comments at City Council Meetings
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Dear Pasadena City Council Members and Mayor,
I strongly support keeping the public comments at the initial part of the meeting in addition to additional time near the end of the meeting.

Please allow 30-60 minutes for the public to express their issues at the beginning of the meeting, especially if they are parents/guardians of young children.

Otherwise it would indicate that you intend to silence the voice of taxpaying citizens.

Let all voices be heard, especially if they are dissenting voices! Regards,
Julie McKune
Community member for 66 years.

P.S. Please read aloud during public comments at the beginning of the meeting this Monday. 1 04/04/2022
Item 12
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Anthony Manousos
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2022 5:07 PM
To: Gordo, Victor; Madison, Steve; Rivas, Jessica; Masuda, Gene; Williams, Felicia; Hampton, Tyron; Kennedy, John J.; PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Let's continue to allow the public to have a prominent place in the City's governance CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council members,
I want to thank the Mayor for agendizing the question of whether to have items not on agenda considered at the end rather than a the beginning of the meetings, as has been the custom in Pasadena for many years.

We at MHCH believe that allowing the public to speak at the beginning has led to many positive outcomes in our city. We advocated for affordable housing at Heritage Square South and Civic Center, with positive results. We successfully advocated for increasing the inclusionary to 20%, and most recently for rezoning congregational land for affordable housing. If our comments about these policies had been relegated to the end of the Council session, fewer concerned citizens would have been able to speak out and it is less likely that these items would have been agendized and approved.

Why, then, change something that is working reasonably well? The argument that 20 minutes at the beginning of the meeting takes time away from commenting on items on the agenda doesn't make sense. Relegating non-agendized items to the end of the meeting would make it extremely difficult for people with families to speak, as Council member Kennedy pointed out. As Tina Williams, director of the Harambee Center, wrote: "Historically, public discourse has held a prominent place in our City's governance. It is one of the many reasons Pasadena is a great place to live." Justifying this change because cities like Santa Monica do it is a specious argument. Just because another city does something doesn't make it right or desirable.

When we at MHCH point out that another city has adopted a housing policy and we can show it's producing good results, it makes sense for Pasadena to consider this policy.

But there is no evidence that Santa Monica's policy on public comments has produced positive results, so why emulate it?
It has also been argued that people from outside of Pasadena are speaking during the public comment period. Why is this a problem? Most of those speakers come from Altadena and have family and friends in our city. Some work and worship here. But even if they came from Northern California, they have the right to speak about important issues like police reform. During the Civil Rights era, Southerners complained that "outside agitators" were coming from the North to take away from them "local control" over segregated lunch counters and schools.
04/04/2022
Item 12
Dr. King responded to this with these famous words: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
I am grateful that people from outside our city care deeply enough about injustice that they speak out about police reform and other matters.

We like to say (and it's true) that Pasadena is a model for other cities. When we do something right, other cities emulate us. And when we do something wrong, we set a bad example
So let's set a positive example for other cities by continuing to give the public a prominent place rather than last place. Let the public have some input into setting the agenda by letting you, our elected officials, know what we feel is important.

Respectfully,
Anthony Manousos
Co-founder of Making Housing and Community Happen.
2 McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Sandy
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2022 11:28 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: re: Agenda item 12 at April 4 council meeting
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Dear Mayor Gordo and Councilmembers,
I am very concerned about the recent change to put public comments at the end of city council meetings. I am writing to respectfully ask that you return the time of public comment for items not on the agenda to the beginning of the council meeting. I believe it is crucial that the public have the opportunity to speak on items not on the agenda at the beginning of council meetings. 1). The opportunity for the public to share their concerns has been a cornerstone in Pasadena's governance. This is not true for many cities.
2). Keeping the public input time at the beginning affirms that the Council genuinely wants to hear the concerns of the public and values their input.
3). By moving the public input time to later in the evening would inadvertently prevent people with special circumstances from the opportunity to speak.
4). I would assume that you all want to preserve trust with the public but | fear that this decision to move public comments to the end of the council meeting may cause public distrust and scrutiny of the Council.

Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,
Sandy Lee Schaupp
04/04/2022
Item 12
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Ryan Bell
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 8:16 AM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Agenda Item 12: AGENDIZING CITY BUSINESS PRIOR TO PUBLIC COMMENT ON

MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA
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Dear Members of City Council,
I was disappointed to learn that Mayor Gordo had an ad hoc committee that made the really unpopular recommendation that public comment on items not on the agenda be moved to the end of city council meetings, late in the night.

While the decision to move public comment on non-agendized items to the end of the meeting is not illegal or necessarily wrong (the county and other cities do it, as the staff report points out), it is a decision with specific consequences and coming in the current context, the community cannot be faulted for drawing certain conclusions about the motivation behind this decision.

First, moving public comment to the end of the meeting means that residents of the city who would like to express themselves and share valuable personal experience and insight, must now wait until late in the night to participate. And how will we know when is the right time to log on unless they're listening to the entire meeting or tuning in from time to time, juggling that with their other family responsiblities and getting ready for work the next morning? When meetings return to in person, if they go back to their normal schedule, the meeting won't begin until 6:30 pm. I and my colleagues have been in council chambers past midnight in the past. Is this good for community participation? Combined with the Mayor's past contemptuous remarks about the community's input regarding city matters it is not difficult to conclude that Mayor Gordo simply does not wish to hear from us anymore. The ad hoc committee should seriously consider the chilling effect this move will have on the community's relationship with its government—a relationship that is already fraying to the breaking point.

Secondly, another important consideration is that the Mayor is solely responsible for what goes on the agenda each week. By moving public comment to the end, the mayor can restrict public involvement to the things he wants to talk about. While the public can wait till the end, it's is obviously prohibitive for working class people, people with small children...anyone who needs to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Thirdly, under the current procedure, the non-agendized public comment period is 20 minutes, after which time the rest of the comments already go to the end of the meeting. Is the community really expected to believe that the reason meetings run long is because of 20 minutes of public comment? If council members want to be more efficient there is a simple solution: be more concise in your comments. Here's an experiment: try limiting yourselves to the 2 minutes you grant to us. Or, being generous, the three minutes we used to get. Many city commission meetings are facilitated more efficiently than city council.
04/04/2022
1 Item 12
Finally, comparison is made to Santa Monica City Council and County Board of Supervisor meetings. This city supposedly reverses the "Pasadena Way," not the Santa Monica Way. Public engagement is the Pasadena Way. In the case of the County BOS, they meet at 9:30 am every Tuesday. Their meetings don't stretch into the wee hours of the night.

The process of democracy is inconvenient for working class folks, no matter when it happens, but the middle of the night is perhaps the worst possible time to invite the community to engage.

Ryan
2 McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Pamela Nagler
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 8:27 AM
To: Ryan Bell
Cc: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Re: Agenda Item 12: AGENDIZING CITY BUSINESS PRIOR TO PUBLIC COMMENT ON

Excellent points. As a longtime advocate for open government and the Brown Act, I strongly oppose the moving of public comment to the END of the meeting. It's just the wrong direction. The direction where we want to go is more community involvement, not less. Comparing Pasadena to Santa Monica and the LA County Board of Supervisors, bah! Pasadena needs to build their own culture of how to engage the public. The public should know exactly when it is time for them to show up and speak. All the years I was teaching, I rarely went to meetings because I could not stay up that late and teach the next day, but I often would slip in and out for public comment.

Pamela Casey Nagler
On Mon, Apr 4, 2022 at 8:16 AM Ryan Bell • vrote:

First, moving public comment to the end of the meeting means that residents of the city who would like to express themselves and share valuable personal experience and insight, must now wait until late in the night to participate. And how will we know when is the right time to log on unless they're listening to the entire meeting or tuning in from time to time, juggling that with their other family responsiblities and getting ready for work the next morning? When meetings return to in person, if they go back to their normal schedule, the meeting won't begin until 6:30 pm. I and my colleagues have been in council chambers past midnight in the past. Is this good for community participation?
Combined with the Mayor's past contemptuous remarks about the community's input regarding city matters it is not difficult to conclude that Mayor Gordo simply does not wish to hear from us anymore. The ad hoc committee should seriously consider the chilling effect this move will have on the community's relationship with its government—a relationship that is already fraying to the breaking point.

Secondly, another important consideration is that the Mayor is solely responsible for what goes on the agenda each week. By moving public comment to the end, the mayor can restrict public involvement to the things he 04/04/2022
Item 12
wants to talk about. While the public can wait till the end, it's is obviously prohibitive for working class people, people with small children... anyone who needs to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Finally, comparison is made to Santa Monica City Council and County Board of Supervisor meetings. This city supposedly reverses the "Pasadena Way," not the Santa Monica Way. Public engagement is the Pasadena Way. In the case of the County BOS, they meet at 9:30 am every Tuesday. Their meetings don't stretch into the wee hours of the night.

The process of democracy is inconvenient for working class folks, no matter when it happens, but the middle of the night is perhaps the worst possible time to invite the community to engage.

Ryan
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2 RECEIVED
BR.E.A.T.HE JUSTICE 365
2022 APR -4 AM 9:20
Ci..

April 1, 2022
RE: Informational Item Related to Agendizing City Business Prior to Public Comment on Matters Not on the Agenda, on a Trial Basis
Dear Mayor Gordo and Pasadena City Council Members,
We write to urge you to maintain the twenty minutes of Public Comment on non-agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings.

Maintaining Public Comments at the beginning of Council Meetings:
• Gives Council members an immediate opportunity to learn about and acknowledge active, pressing community issues.
• Provides a logical, predictable and timely forum for those community members with strict time constraints to present important matters to the Council. - This especially applies to:
• Working community members with inflexible schedules
• Parents and those caring for elderly or disabled community members • Elderly community members
• Disabled community members
Mayor Gordo, during your campaign for Mayor, you said:
• "Too many Pasadenans believe they are unheard at the top of City Hall. As Mayor, 1 pledge to listen to all of Pasadena's residents."
• "The most important responsibility for me as an elected official is the willingness to listen to all vantage points, to be willing to stand before anyone who has a concern, who wants to talk." Pasadenans continue to show you that we "want to talk." Yet, your actions repeatedly stifle community voices:
• You slashed the duration of public speaking time from three minutes to ninety seconds. - This makes it nearly impossible for community members to effectively communicate during Council meetings.
• You cut the feeds of actively speaking community members respectfully presenting prepared remarks. - This breeds mistrust in
• You now attempt to move Public Comment on non-agendized matters to an unknown time frame a he end of lengthy Council meetings, when all Council members may not even be present. - This makes engaging with City Council increasingly more out of reach for many Pasadenans The twenty minutes of community comment at the start of meetings are not what make City Council meetings "inefficient."
Instead of employing tactics that further diminish community input into Council meetings, please focus on actual means of improving meeting efficiency that are mutually beneficial to Council members and community members alike. (See examples on the following page.)

Page 1 of 2 ends

04/04/2022
Item 12
Please consider improving meeting efficiency by:
• Requiring Staff to prepare and disseminate objective and thorough reports to the Council and Community earlier.
- Early distribution of Staff Reports that comprehensively cover multiple vantage points would set the stage for greater meeting efficiency.
• Requiring Council Members to review all meeting documents prior to the start of Council meetings. • Requiring Council Members to remain attentive and physically in chambers or directly in front of their cameras with cameras turned "on" for the duration of Council meetings. - This diminishes the chances of Council members missing crucial information that may later need to be repeated.

On a final and related note, we request that you continue the inclusive and efficient method of allowing community members to provide Public Comments remotely, via telephone or Zoom, even after Council meetings are 100% in-person. Doing so would continue to grant access to a diverse array of Pasadenans who would otherwise be unable to contribute to in-person Council meetings in real time.

Please show the people of Pasadena that you care about us and what we have to say.

Keep Public Comment on non-agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings.

Respectfully Submitted,
The B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Justice 365 Team
A Pasadena-based collective of physicians, attorneys, clergy, educators, parents and everyday people striving for equality.

Page 2 of 2 ends

McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: KristinOckershauser
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 4:18 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: The Council's Long Night
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TO: Mayor Gordo and Councilmembers
Give me a break...20 paltry minutes for public comment on the city's business is holding up consideration of agenda items that consume hours of discussion by some, not all, Council members...much of which could be accomplished with their prior preparation.

Mayor Gordo needs to put the brakes on the limitless musings and commentary by Council longwinders who've not done their homework beforehand.

I'm sure it's hard for Council members to believe that their endless musings are not appreciated and that the public would greatly appreciate discussion that's on point and gets efficiently to the decisions that are necessary.

Someone needs to push a buzzer after, say, 10 minutes of any one member's remarks, with a limit of, say, 20 minutes for discussion on any one agenda item, unless a vote to extend for a limited time is taken. (How about the City Clerk.) Get these rascals under control and get on with the business. And give the public some respectable opportunity to let you know what we think, maybe a radical 30 minutes.

Hope springs eternal....

Kris Ockershauser
Pasadena
04/04/2022
1 Item 12
McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Una Lee Jost
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 4:29 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse; Bell, Cushon; Dyson, Darla; Porras, Susana; Sullivan, Noreen; Morales, Margo; Suzuki, Takako; Thyret, Pam; Gordo, Victor; Hampton, Tyron; Williams, Felicia; Masuda, Gene; Kennedy, John J.; Rivas, Jessica; Madison, Steve; Wilson, Andy
Subject: 2022-04-04 Pasadena City Council Meeting - Public Comment, Agenda 12 Attachments: 20211115_PasCityCouncil_ULJPublicComment.pdf; 20220404 _PasCityCouncil_BREATHEPublicComment.pdf
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more... «https://mydoit.cityofpasadena.net/sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0010263>.

Dear Mayor Victor Gordo and Pasadena Council Members:

I am Una Lee Jost, PUSD parent and longtime resident of Pasadena, District 4.

I am writing to add my voice urging Councilmembers to maintain the twenty minutes of Public Comment on non- agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings.

BROWN ACT'S INTENT AND PURPOSE FOR THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE IN CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS As you are aware, the Ralph M. Brown Act codified in the CA Government Code guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.

The introduction to the Brown Act in the Code describes its purpose and intent as follows:
"In acting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that... councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.
"The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."
Section 54954.3(a) of the Code further provides:
"Every agenda for regular meetings shall provide an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the legislative body on any item of interest to the public...."

COMMUNITY OUTCRY AGAINST MEETING FORMAT CHANGE
1 04/04/2022
Item 12
1 am dismayed to learn that, instead of reserving the first twenty minutes of every council meeting for public comment on any issue members of the community wish to address, Mayor Gordo and a "committee" have decided to move this free public comment to the end of the meeting.

For the past year, community-based racial justice and homelessness/housing advocates (from groups like SURJ Altadena- Pasadena, My TRIBE Rise, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Black Lives Matter Pasadena, and Make Housing and Community Happen, etc.) have regularly showed up at weekly Pasadena City Council meetings to advocate during the 20 minutes worth of general public comment time at the start of council meetings.

I have been impressed by the many varied voices of our citizenry taking time and effort to participate in local democracy, highlighting urgent issues of community concern like racial justice and housing justice gaps in our city (Please see my Nov. 15, 2022 public comment attached.)
By moving this free public comment to the end of the meeting, it gives the unfortunate perception that some members of our city council are tired of hearing these voices.

Below is just a sampling of recent published articles by community leaders voicing concerns regarding the format change:
- Heavenly Hughes, "Mayor Victor Gordo RESENTS being held accountable to protect and serve the lives of Black residents of Pasadena..."
(https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pasadenablackpages.com%2Fmayor-victor- gordo-resents-being-held-accountable-to-protect-and-serve-the-lives-of-black-residents-of- pasadena.htm|&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf% 7C82d9fc002с664402a28fc6bcdс32е491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7СTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljo MC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQ|joiV2luMzliLCJBTil6ık1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=Nf33ExEkypmYN2RDGTSHY odzekp4MjKJIJQOGjw%2BitM%3D&reserved=0)
- Dr. Jane Ward, "Don't Suppress Our Voices"
(https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pasadenanow.com%2Fmain%2Fguest- opinion-jane-ward-dont-suppress-our-
voices&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C82d9f с002c664402a28fc6bcdс32е491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7СТWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljoiMC4wLj AwMDAiLCJQ|joiV2luMzliLCJBTil6lk1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=g7ejfw8VqYghqz429P5F6uU%2Bk5E Z3NVqeOB10A6rjfl%3D&reserved=0)
- Sonja Berndt, "We Must Oppose Efforts to Thwart Public Participation in Our City Government" (https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pasadenanow.com%2Fmain%2Fwe-get- letters-we-must-oppose-efforts-to-thwart-public-participation-in-our-city- government&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C 82d9fc002c664402a28fc6bcdc32e491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljoiM С4wLjAwМDАiLCJQ|joiV2luМzliLCJВТiІ6Іk1hаWwiLCJХVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=9BG%2F8Rzt7uZdvKj7%2F479 KzCEVyErD3IDToEnQS1boe0%3D&reserved=0)
- Kris Ockershauser, "Change Translates to Shutting Down Public Comment" (https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pasadenanow.com%2Fmain%2Fwe-get- letters-change-translates-to-shutting-down-public-
comment&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C82 d9fc002c664402a28fc6bcdc32e491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljoiMC4 wLjAwMDAiLCJQ|joiV2luMzliLCJBTil6lk1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=cLeElo9DQsAIrczsJo5SK4W09xv Tu101v1S0et1TRPQ%3D&reserved=0)
PURPORTED PURPOSE OF FORMAT CHANGE:

Mayor Gordo's agenda report states the purported reason for this format change is "to make meetings more efficient and ensure the public's opportunity to provide timely input and allow for thoughtful decision-making on the important business before the City Council."
If Mayor Gordo's goal is to make meetings more efficient, I urge the Council to follow the recommendations offered by B..R.E.A.T.H.E. Justice
365 to:
- "Requir[e] Staff to prepare and disseminate objective and thorough reports to the Council and Community earlier" - "Require] Council Members to review all meeting documents prior to the start of Council meetings." - "Requir[e] Council Members to remain attentive and phycially in chambers or directly ini front of their cameras with cameras turned "on"
for the duration of Council meetings."
in addition, if Mayor Gordo's goal is to ensure the public's opportunity to provide timely input and allow for thoughtful decision-making on the important business before the City Council," I urge the Council to be responsive to the requests of B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Justice 365 and many other community members to:
- Keep Public Common on non-agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings; and - Continue the inclusive and efficient method of allowing community members to provide Public Comments remotely, via telephone or Zoom, even after Council meetings are 100% in-person, to grant access to a diverse array of Pasadenans who would otherwise be unable to contribute to in-person Council meetings in real time.

PURPORTED COMPARISONS WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS:

Mayor Gordo's agenda report also notes that such format change is consistent with meetings for "cities such as Glendale and Santa Monica,"
and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

If the City of Pasadena is now following the lead of cities like Glendale and Santa Monica, then I would also note that both of those cities have adopted ordinances imposing local campaign contribution limits:
- According to a 2016 Common Cause report, the City of Santa Monica, with a population size of 93,283, has a local campaign contribution limit of $325.
- Likewise, the City of Glendale, with a population size of 199,182, has a local campaign contribution limit of $1000 per contributor.
- In contrast, the City of Pasadena, with a lower population size of 138,699, is only limited by the state default limit of $4900 per contributor.
(https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commoncause.org%2Fcalifornia%2Fwp- content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F29%2F2018%2F06%2FCA-Contribution-Limits-Report-Apr- 2016.pdf&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C82d 9fc002c664402a28fc6bcdc32e491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljoiMC4 WLjAwMDAiLCJQ|joiV2luMzliLCJBTil61k1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=eTXbJtuHKPVt6dg|C3ZmaYkFKLB bPTAAUwUtHJCMb80%3D&reserved=0)
Also, the reference to the LA County Board of Supervisors is not a comparable comparison at all to the City of Pasadena.

Each of the 5 Supervisors represents more than two MILLION people; thus, the Board as whole represents more than 10 MILLION people. In contrast, the Pasadena City Council represents a city with a population size of only 138,699. 3 In fact, a review of the nine cities that make up our 41st Assembly District shows that the vast majority of the district's cities provide for a free public comment period at the start of city council meetings prior to action items, including the Cities of:
- Claremont;
- Monrovia;
- San Dimas;
- Sierra Madre;
- South Pasadena;
- Rancho Cucamonga; and
- Upland.

PLEASE LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY
"Advocate for shared power and belonging for all children, youth and families to address the impacts of systemic and institutionalized injustice.

This format change affects us all, limiting our ability to speak directly to the Pasadena City Council about matters in our city. City Council meetings often run for hours, making it difficult for PUSD parents and working people to wait until the end of the meeting with no defined set time to be able to provide public comment.

During his campaign for Mayor, Mayor Gordo said:
- "Today, too many Pasadenans believe they are unheard at the top of City Hall. As Mayor, I pledge to listen to all of Pasadena's residents and fight to make sure Pasadena works for the people who live here now." - Mayor Gordo also made "Strong Leadership with Transparency and Accountability" a theme of his campaign, stating that he would "work to ensure our local city government is responsive, transparent, fiscally responsible, and accountable to residents. "
(https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.victorgordoformayor.com%2Fwhy-i-m- running&data=04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C82d9 fc002c664402a28fc6bcdc32e491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8ey/WljoiMC4wL jAwMDAiLCJQljoiV2luMzliLCJBTil61k1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=0Mp2J17hNfWKrMb41ucK5ygwoq WNFbFP3LV9sU4qqEA%3D&reserved=0)
- "Standing up and being a fighter for the people of Pasadena," Mayor Gordo said, was why he was running for Mayor. (https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.victorgordoformayor.com%2F&data= 04%7C01%7Cnmcmillan%40cityofpasadena.net%7Ce03db13e49b7436e762708da169308cf%7C82d9fc002c664402a28fc 6bcdc32e491%7C1%7C0%7C637847119803435819%7CUnkn0wn%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWljoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQljoiV 2luMzliLCJВТiІ6Ik1haWwiLCJХVСI6Мn0%3D%7C2000&amр;sdata=ejqCKsnvk|О0qHW%2FеНК7tobJD%2BхoWRd555xEНs 5VVmM%3D&reserved=0)
Mayor Gordo and Councilmembers, I respectfully urge each one of you to lift up the voice of everyday people, and protect the right of community members to participate fully in the political process so that we can have a truly inclusive local city government. Doing do would lead to a more equal representation and government policies that are mutually beneficial to all.

Please listen to the community and maintain the twenty minutes of Public Comment on non-agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings.

Respectfully submitted,
~ Una Lee Jost, Resident of Pasadena, District 4
4 Nov. 15, 2021 Pasadena City Council Meeting - Public Comment on Matters Not on the Agenda Subject: Nov. 15, 2021 Pasadena City Council Meeting - Public Comment on Matters Not on the Agenda From: Una Lee Jost
Date: 11/15/21, 16:08
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RE: ADDRESSING IMPACTS OF SYSTEMIC AND INSTITUTIONALIZED INJUSTICE IN PASADENA Dear Mayor Victor Gordo and Pasadena Council Members:

I am Una Lee Jost, PUSD parent and longtime resident of Pasadena, District 4.

I am also a member of the PTA, the nation's largest volunteer-led child advocacy association working to drive improvements in the education, health and well-being of all children and families.

PTA STATEMENTS CONCERNING RACIAL JUSTICE
The State PTA recently adopted Advocacy Goals for 2021-23, which includes commitments to:
"Advocate to achieve justice for all children, youth and families to have their essential needs met"; and
• "Advocate for shared power and belonging for all children, youth and families to address the impacts of systemic and institutionalized injustice."
(https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.capta.org/aboutPTA/0rganizational+Goals+2021-23.pdf) Last year, in the wake of the national George Floyd protests described by Amnesty International as "the largest social movement in U.S. history, " the National PTA also adopted a Position Statement entitled
"Say Their Names: Addressing Systemic or Institutional Racism." The Position Statement called on all PTAs to
"work with community-based organizations whose mission and purpose are to address and dismantle deeply rooted issues related to race and culture."
(https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/ptas-positions/Individual-Position-Statements/Rosition- statement...addressing-systemic-or-institutional-racism) TROUBLING COMMUNITY ACCOUNTS OF TREATMENT OF RACIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATES AT NOVEMBER 1, 2021

PASADENA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
I am thus troubled by the following accounts in Pasadena Black Pages and Pasadena Now of Mayor jordo's treatment of racial justice advocates who took the time to provide public comment at th lovember 1. 2021 Pasadena City Council meetina, conveving to them that they are outsiders who de not represent the community he serves:
- Hughes H., "Mayor Victor Gordo Devalues Community Input, Apology Demanded (Pasadena Black Pages, Nov. 2, 2021) (http://www.pasadenablackpages.com/mayor-victor-gordo-devalues-community- input--apology-demanded.html)
- Ward, J., "It's Time for the City of Pasadena to Hold a Town Hall Meeting on Police Violence" (Nov. 2, 2021)
(https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/guest-epinion-dr-jane-ward-its-time-for-the-city-of-pasadena- to-hold-a-town-hall-meeting-on-police-violence)
On the contrary, as a long-time Pasadenan, I am grateful for racial advocates like Heavenly 1 of 3 4/4/22, 15:51
Nov. 15, 2021 Pasadena City Council Meeting - Public Comment on Matters Not on the Agenda Hughes and Dr. Jane Ward, respective co-founders of My TRIBE Rise and a Showing Up for Racial chapter, groups which serve the people of Pasadena and nearby cities by working to address and dismantle deeply rooted issues related to race and culture within our City.

ABOUT MY TRIBE RISE
My TRIBE Rise is a California nonprofit corporation formed in 2019, whose work focuses on police reform, food insecurity, and economic justice for the black community.

My TRIBE Rise has been honored with Congresswoman Judy Chu's Nonprofit of the Year Award 2021, as well as Sen. Anthony Portantino's State of California Senate Certificate of Recognition Award (https://mytriberise.org)
My TRIBE Rise has even been featured in Pasadena Weekly earlier this year, with our own Councilmember Tyron Hampton quoted as saying:
*ConTRIal Rouse old nane liketore NAAP. vant to highlight them because I believe soon they will (https://pasadenaweekly.com/my-tribe-rise-bringing=peace-to-altadenas)

ABOUT SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial and economic justice, in response to the call from Black leaders and leaders of color to move white people into action.
(https://surj.org/about/our-story.)
I understand that since Ferguson, SURJ has been surging with new members, new chapters, and a growing role of convening national calls to help inform, equip, and mobilize a massively copte into racial justice clon. expanding base of white people into racial justice action, with 200 chapters now nationwide, including SURJ Altadena.
https://surj.org/our-work/chapters)

MY REQUEST
As a Pasadena resident and PTA member, I am grateful that the co-founders of My Tribe Rise and SURJ Altadena took time to provide public comment at Pasadena City Council meetings to speak up ene sane to prepare for and speak up st curet net agardian lik I hope all Council members would welcome and take heed of the valuable input and recommendations of racial justice advocates like Heavenly Hughes and Dr. Jane Ward.

In particular, I join their calls in urging Pasadena City Council to hold a Town Hall meeting on the tonic of violence that Pasadena's Black residents have experienced at the hands of the City's In addition, I encourage Mayor Gordo to issue a formal apology for his treatment of racial justice advocates at the November 8, 2021 City Council meeting, to uphold the standards set forth in our City's municipal code which requires all City Council meetings to be conducted "in a manner that is efficient, courteous, responsive and impartial, providing fair and uniform e the atty council: providing fait and unitorn treatment of all persons and actions coming before the city council." (Pasadena Municipal Code section 2.05.120, A.2.)
I hope each of you as Councilmembers would keep the PTA Advocacy Goals I shared at the outset of my email in mind as you carry out your duties, and commit to furthering PTA's Advocacy Goals by utilizing all the powers and resources entrusted to you as Councilmembers to transform our City into one that:
• Advocates to achieve justice for all children, youth and families to have their essential needs met; and
• Advocates for shared power and belonging for all children, youth and families to address the impacts of systemic and institutionalized injustice.

I am happy to explore how I and other PTA members can collaborate with you in achieving these goals. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned. 2 of 3 4/4/22, 15:51
Nov. 15, 2021 Pasadena City Council Meeting - Public Comment on Matters Not on the Agenda Respectfully submitted,
~ Una Lee Jost, Resident of Pasadena, District 4
Attachments:

CAPTA_AdvocacyGoals_2021-23.pdf 2.3 MB
NPTA_PositionStatement_SayTheirNames.pdf 1.2 MB
PMC_s2.05.120_rulesofconduct.pdf 47.4 KB
3 of 3 4/4/22, 15:51

RECEIVED
B.R.E.A.T.H.E JUSTICE 365
2022 APR -4 AM 9:20
....

Ci..

Maintaining Public Comments at the beginning of Council Meetings:
• Gives Council members an immediate opportunity to learn about and acknowledge active, pressing community issues.
• Provides a logical, predictable and timely forum for those community members with strict time constraints to present important matters to the Council. - This especially applies to:
• Working community members with inflexible schedules
• Parents and those caring for elderly or disabled community members • Elderly community members
• Disabled community members
Mayor Gordo, during your campaign for Mayor, you said:
• "Too many Pasadenans believe they are unheard at the top of City Hall. As Mayor, I pledge to listen to all of Pasadena's residents. "
• "The most important responsibility for me as an elected official is the willingness to listen to all vantage points, to be willing to stand before anyone who has a concern, who wants to talk. " Pasadenans continue to show you that we "want to talk." Yet, your actions repeatedly stifle community voices:
• You slashed the duration of public speaking time from three minutes to ninety seconds. - This makes it nearly impossible for community members to effectively communicate during Council meetings.
• You cut the feeds of actively speaking community members respectfully presenting prepared remarks - This breeds mistrust in—or even resentment toward—the City Council • You now attempt to move Public Comment on non-agendized matters to an unknown time frame at the end of lengthy Council meetings, when all Council members may not even be present. - This makes engaging with City Council increasingly more out of reach for many Pasadenans.

The twenty minutes of community comment at the start of meetings are not what make City Council meetings "inefficient."
Instead of employing tactics that further diminish community input into Council meetings, please focus on actual means of improving meeting efficiency that are mutually beneficial to Council members and community members alike. (See examples on the following page.)

Page 1 of 2 ends

Please show the people of Pasadena that you care about us and what we have to say.

Keep Public Comment on non-agendized matters at the beginning of City Council meetings.

Respectfully Submitted
The B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Justice 365 Team
A Pusadena-based collective of physicians, attorneys, clergy, educators, parents and everyday people striving for equality.

Page 2 of 2 ends

McMillan, Acquanette (Netta)
From: Peter Dreier
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2022 5:23 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Cc: Peter Dreier
Subject: Item 12 on April 4 City Council agenda
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button. Learn more...

Mayor and Council members:

I oppose the proposal to move public comments at City Council meetings to the end of the agenda. This means that working people and the elderly would often have to wait until 11 pm, midnight, or even later to speak.

Most people can't wait that long. They have to get up for jobs the next morning, or work at jobs that begin at 8 or 9 pm, or go home to help their kids with their homework, or go to a PTA meeting. Advocates of voting rights argue that making people wait five or six hours in order to vote is a form of voter suppression and disenfranchisement. This is what Republican states have done, particularly targeting Black voters, hoping they won't be able to wait that long to vote and thus not vote. Making people wait until 11 pm, midnight, or later to speak at Pasadena City Council meetings is another form of disenfranchisement - especially for working people and the elderly. It is a way of stifling free speech and assembly. I know that the Mayor and some Council members have been upset by a handful of people who regularly disrupt Council meetings during public comments by using profanity to criticize the Council members. The Council shouldn't make everyone else wait until the end of the meeting - again, a form of disenfranchisement - because of a few obnoxious people who abuse the privilege. I don't like using profanity at public meetings either, but that is the price we pay for having a First Amendment.

Peter Dreier
Peter Dreier
Dr. E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics
Founding Chair (1996-2019), Urban & Environmental Policy Department Co-founder and co-coordinator, Campaign Semester program Occidental College
04/04/2022
1 Item 12
Los Angeles, CA 90041
Website: http://www.peterdreier.com
Forthcoming book: Baseball Rebels: The Players, People and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America (University of Nebraska Press, 2022) - coauthor with Rob Elias Forthcoming book: Major League Rebels: Baseball Battles Over Workers' Rights and American Empire (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) - coauthor with Rob Elias
Latest book: We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism - American Style (The New Press, 2020) - co-editor with Kate Aronoff and Michael Kazin
Last book: The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame (Nation Books, 2012) Updated book: Place Matters: Metropolitics for the 21s' Century (University Press of Kansas, 3rd edition, 2014) -- with John Mollenkopf and Todd Swanstrom
Another book: The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City (University of California Press, 2006) - with Robert Gottlieb and Regina Freer
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality" (Attributed to Dante, although he never used those exact words)
"When will there be justice in Athens? There will be justice in Athens when those who are not injured are as outraged as those who are." (Thucydides)
2 Iraheta, Alba
From: Allison Henry
Sent: Monday, April 4, 2022 7:58 PM
To: PublicComment-AutoResponse
Subject: Comments 4-4-22 Item 12
CAUTION: This email was delivered from the Internet. Do not click links or open attachments unless you know the content is safe. Report phish using the Phish Alert Button, Learn more...

Hello Pasadena City Council Members,
As someone who brought people to council and kept us late-working people, parents, seniors, and just tired out peeps from a day of work. I speak against this idea and frankly against even a pilot. Like many who have spoken before echo the sentiment that this is in response to the murder of Anthony McClain, Kendric McDade, and other victims of Pasadena In the last few years in response to pandemic, we have had meetings start at 2pm, 4:30pm from an evening start time. Public Comment is a fixed 20 minute period of time, very closely enforced. This is not a good look or good response. It was through public comment that residents who are marginalized or not used to coming to meetings expressed their voice. The start of the meeting is a reliable time to share with community members. You heard from tenants during public comment at the beginning of the agenda, and from hearing from tenants we were able to make change.

The pilot is not a pilot—it is not a harmless experiment. Please reject this idea to move a fixed 20 minute period to the end of meetings that may, and do, go long. This is what democracy looks like. In an era where we want to expand public access and support, this is a bad idea and inconsistent with public engagement.

Closing the legislative/time loophole of the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and emergency 2020 COVID Eviction Moratorium happened because of public comments allowed, consistently, at the beginning of the agenda. You all know better. Please don't even pilot this idea.

Sincerely,
Allison Henry
D3
SGV Tenants' Alliance
1 04/04/2022
Item 12

Pasadena City CouncilApril 4, 2022

Pasadena City Council
April 4, 2022