A long overdue call for civility at 4th and Santa Clara

Maybe it was the explosive device found on a CM's lawn. Or the mayor's house being vandalized. Or CMs falsely calling their colleagues and whole neighborhoods racist. Or city staffers publicly—and inaccurately—accusing citizens of bigoted motives. Or maybe it was all the yelling and name calling and overall nastiness that overwhelmed the Dec. 5 public meeting on special elections. But CM Chappie Jones has had enough, and offered, on Dec. 5, a call for a return to civility in the City Council Chambers. His comments excerpted below, edited for clarity.

“I support the desire of the community to have their voices heard in terms of a vote. I also have an issue with some of the tactics I heard in the comments and in some cases the vitriol that came out of this whole process.

There were a lot of speakers that got up and really had very intelligent, very strong arguments to support their position, particularly around having the right and the ability to vote.

But we also have received numerous emails—and there were several speakers that spoke tonight—that tried to bully or attack or diminish my colleagues who put out this memo with the best intentions. I wanted to come out and say that if you have a position and you’re passionate about that position, you have every right to come to us and make your case.

But personal attacks, bullying, and vitriol is [sic] not good for democracy. A lot of you spoke about supporting democracy and maintaining our democracy. I can tell you that the climate we’re in now, in the way people treat each other, is diminishing our democracy. 

I wanted to get that out there and also say that I support my colleagues who have a different position who felt that having an appointment process was the best path forward. They were concerned about the cost and the costs are significant. I’m concerned about the cost. I hear the argument that if we spend that money on an election, the result may be officers we’re not going to be able to deploy on the street to keep you safe. It’s potholes that might not get repaired. It’s parks that might not be maintained to the level that you want.

We should all accept that there's valid reasons for people’s positions and understand where they’re coming from and assume positive intent as opposed to some conspiracy or backroom deals that are being cut. I just want to say that as we move forward and talk about democracy, think about how we treat each other, think about how we engage. If you’re passionate about something, if you have a position about something, you have every right to come to your government and state your position, but try to do it with the level of respect and decency and kindness."

Watch the Dec. 5 Council meeting here (Jones’ comments start at: 5:29:48).

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