Dear Council Members,
I am wri�ng to support hybrid Council Mee�ngs. As a frequent par�cipant in public comment, I support zoom par�cipa�on.
Without Zoom, I would not be able to par�cipate in public comment. Without the Zoom op�on, many people will not be able to give public comment due to age, illness, disability, paren�ng obliga�ons, work obliga�ons and other everyday circumstance that prevents people from atending Council mee�ngs in person.
While I understand that zoom bombing is disrup�ve, it does not undermine the integrity of the mee�ngs. A few bad actors should not ruin the democra�c experience for Sebastopol’s ci�zens.
The zoom bombers are most likely not even residents of Sebastopol; their bad behavior should not be limi�ng the public par�cipa�on of actual residents.
I request that Council maintain the zoom op�on for public comment to allow many members of the community to par�cipate in public comment, which is crucial for true democra�c decision making.
Best,
Kate Haug