The Bangor City Council voted unanimously on Monday to end public comments held remotely via Zoom at its first meeting since electing three new members, including convicted killer Angela Walker.
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The left-wing city council unanimously agreed to a resolution that will end remote public comments, though Councilor Joseph Leonard expressed a willingness to bring back remote participation if the city is able to verify the identities of online participants.
“Once staff feels comfortable doing that, rest assured, I’m going to absolutely bring that as a motion back to the council,” said Leonard.
That openness suggests an evolution in Leonard’s thinking given that he threw a pencil at the Zoom camera in protest of a call-in comment two weeks ago.
Perhaps referencing that incident, he said that the system the city already had allowed people to participate anonymously, which gave them the confidence to share “hateful messages.”
“I don’t see this as a permanent change, I see this as something very temporary,” said Councilor Michael Beck.
The text of the resolution points out that city statutes only require the council to allow remote public participation during meetings in which council members are participating remotely.
“Given the recent disruptive behavior encountered during Zoom public participation, and the technological limitations in this regard, the City will no longer allow individuals to participate in public comment via remote means. In order to participate in public comment, citizens may attend meetings in Council Chambers or submit written comments,” says the resolution.
The council’s decision comes after multiple recent incidents in which people, who may or may not be Bangor residents, called in via Zoom using false names, including Alex Jones, while swearing and using slurs.
Perhaps the change is for the best, since now Councilor Walker has a history of being moved to homicidal rage in response to an alleged racial comment.
