“This is good public policy, and we appreciate all the residents who have called our offices, who have come to public session and expressed their concerns,” said Martha Castex-Tatum, mayor pro-tem and District K council member. “Times are different. Our public sessions should be transparent, but we all must be respectful of individual privacy, especially in today’s times and with the digital age. Our personal information can be easily found, but we definitely should do all that we can to protect individuals’ privacy when they want to come and petition their government.”
The gist
According to the city’s ordinances, Rule 8 of Article 1 Section 2-2 requires speakers during the public comment period to disclose their street address; mailing address, if different; phone number; and a brief description of the intended comment. Prior to Council’s vote, this personal information was available to the general public.
“Many Houstonians may choose to not speak at these meetings due to legitimate concerns for their safety and the safety of their households,” said Alexandra Okechi, an educator who spoke during the public comment period Nov. 6 in support of amending the city ordinance.
The discussion
Okechi and other residents cited safety concerns, privacy concerns and fear of retaliation. They said they believe the existing requirement imposed on public speakers is a barrier to civic engagement in the city and silences voices.
“It’s not important for the general public to have that information. It puts them in danger; it sometimes causes people hesitancy to come forward, and so we want to remove that barrier,” District J council member Edward Pollard said. “This is something we’ve been discussing for some time.”
Some context
The amendment was placed on the agenda by council members Pollard, Castex-Tatum, Tiffany Thomas and Carolyn Evans-Shabazz as a result of Proposition A.
The proposition—which voters approved in November 2023—gave Houston City Council members more power to place items on the council’s weekly agenda, according to previous reporting. Instead of the mayor only being able to set agenda items, any member of the 16-member council can now place items on the agenda as long as they have support of at least two other council members.
The takeaway
In regard to appearances by members of the public, the city’s ordinance will now read: “The speaker’s street address, mailing address (if different), and telephone number is for internal, administrative use only by City Council, the city secretary’s office and city departments, and shall not be disclosed publicly, except as required by law.”
