Whatcom County joins Bellingham in suspending remote commenting following interruptions
Anyone who wants to address the Whatcom County Council during the open public comment part of its Tuesday meeting must attend in person after callers interrupted the broadcast of its last session.
“Remote public comment will not be offered at this meeting,” according to the County Council agenda for Feb. 20. “Due to recent hate speech incidents at meetings across the state we are reviewing our public comment rules and procedures and are not offering a remote comment option at this time.”
A series of online callers during the County Council’s Feb. 6 open public comment session used racist and antisemitic slurs, including centuries-old Jewish stereotypes, and leveled false allegations against the Anti-Defamation League — a group whose mission is fighting bias, bigotry and extremism.
County officials and others denounced the incident, and the Bellingham City Council responded by canceling online public comment for its Feb 12 session and for the immediate future.
In its announcement, the county pointed out that public comment can still be made in person during the meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers in the County Courthouse at 311 Grand Ave. Comments will also be accepted by mail, email at council@co.whatcom.wa.us, or by phone at 360-778-5010.
“Any individual who will have difficulty attending a meeting of the County Council by reason of disability, limited mobility, or for any other reason that makes physical attendance at a meeting difficult, the council shall, when feasible, provide an opportunity for that individual to provide oral comment remotely if oral comment from other members of the public will be accepted at the meeting. Please contact our office by noon on meeting day at 360-778-5010 to register,” according to the County Council’s agenda.
It’s the second time that callers have used antisemitic and racial slurs and the first time since government meetings went online during the coronavirus pandemic that the County Council has moved to limit its public comment.
Members of the Bellingham City Council paused their open public comment session for several months in the summer of 2021 when YouTube threatened to remove the city’s channel because speakers were violating YouTube’s rules against medical misinformation with false and unsubstantiated claims about the coronavirus. Bellingham resumed public comment using the Zoom online platform to avoid violating YouTube’s rules.
In summer 2021 the city of Bellingham stopped streaming the Whatcom County Council meetings on its BTV Live channel at YouTube for the same reason.
Government agencies are required by state law to accept public comment, but they aren’t required to provide an option for speaking directly to the panel — in person or online.
