Barry Allen’s Comments on Oral Communications in the 04-20-08 Vanguard Weekly News

Mayor Drayman moved Oral Communications to the end of the agenda. That will certainly stifle dissent by those that vote and pay attention. What the Mayor should be doing is encouraging the public to not only speak but to encourage younger people to fill the void. How would the public know of the 12 week presentation by Bruce Philpott about the failure of the fire department to respond quickly to calls for help; or the sad condition of the Beeline as brought to the public‟s attention by Richard Espiritu? Many of the seniors that want to speak use public transportation which is not available after 7 and they choose not to drive because of various disabilities. They will have to watch on cable. The folks that have contracted acute illnesses in Montrose will not be unable to attend and speak at Council meetings.

Oral Communications, as an agenda item, is guaranteed by the Ralph M. Brown Act. In Glendale it has provided some very important input to the City Council. For instance, retired Pasadena Police Chief Bruce Philpott provided input that caused the Glendale Fire Department to rescind its policy allowing firemen to exercise in remote locations that caused slow response times on emergency calls. Had this information not been presented to Council and the public, the Fire Department would not have responded. Dr. Richard Espiritu has spent the last 5 years bringing to the attention of the Council the abysmal compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as the deteriorating condition of the Beeline even pointing out that City staff has not been holding the operator MV Transportation accountable something the Council need know when it comes time to award a $30,000,000 contract.

Dr. Espiritu is the sole caregiver to his 93 year old mother. He uses public transportation to come to Council and speak on behalf of the disabled community. Is Mayor Drayman‟s new agenda something that is designed to stop Richard Espiritu, Bruce Philpott and others that have a message to deliver?