Public comment returns to Lexington council meetings after racist Zoom trolls intruded
After trolls hijacked two Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Zoom meetings this summer, the council halted all public comment until it could figure out how to keep trolls out.
Starting at Tuesday’s council work session, people will be allowed to come to the Lexington council’s chambers on Main Street and give public comment in person. The council is still holding its meetings via Zoom.
But a camera placed in the council chamber will allow the public to speak to the 15-member council via Zoom.
Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, taxpayers who wanted to weigh in on issues before the council spoke to the council in person in the council chambers.
People will be required to sign up by noon the day before the meeting. For Tuesday’s 3 p.m. work session meeting, people will need to sign up by noon Monday. That’s necessary so city hall staff can know how many people are coming in advance. People can sign up on the web site at lexingtonky.gov/public-comment. If they don’t have internet access, people can call (859) 258-3155 and a city hall staffer will sign them up.
Temperatures will be taken at the door and people will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms.
People will not be allowed to stay in the chamber after speaking to reduce the number of people gathered and allow for social distancing. Everyone must wear a mask, said Jenifer Wuorenmaa, an administrator with Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton’s office.
The council has held its meetings via Zoom since April. During a meeting in June, trolls pretending to be citizens called in, started speaking and then yelled racist, homophobic and antisemitic remarks. The council temporarily blocked public comment after that meeting in June but later resumed public comment.
In August, the trolls — it’s not clear if they were the same people — used Zoom to pose as residents and again yelled obscenities during a meeting in which the council was discussing the renaming of Cheapside Park for Henry A Tandy, a freed Black slave and prominent Lexington businessman.
Many have been pushing for the council to restore public comment as it begins to grapple with key issues, including police discipline. Mayor Linda Gorton’s Commission on Racial Justice and Equality, which has been working for months on recommendations to change systemic racism in law enforcement, health care and education, was expected to release its recommendations on Friday.
A group, LPD accountability, which has been pushing for various police reforms, picketed outside Vice Mayor Steve Kay’s house during Thursday’s meeting with signs that said, “Bring Back Public Comment.”
Kay left the Zoom meeting briefly to go outside his home and tell the group that public comment was being restored on Tuesday.
The city is still working to allow public comment via Zoom or other means for those who cannot or do not feel comfortable giving public comment in person, Gorton said during Thursday’s council meeting. To find out more about the rules for public comment go to www.lexingtonky.gov/public-comment.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
