Open Letter to City Council on The Importance of Public Participation

May 14th, 2025

Dear Mayor Brockett and Members of Boulder City Council,

Boulder Progressives is aware of the difficulties experienced by both community members and city council members over the last months during the open comment portion of regular city council meetings. Our organization has been supportive of several of those changes that council has recently made to help mitigate these difficulties, especially to the extent that they enhanced rather than limited the public’s ability to speak to city council on local issues. We appreciate your service and continued work to make the city council’s open process inclusive for everyone.

However, we absolutely oppose any additional measures or changes that would tend to limit access to public engagement, including the current proposal to move open comment to the end of city council meetings. This proposal would have the effect of deterring public participation and would greatly limit public access to city government. It would particularly impact the ability of those who have the fewest routes to access elected officials and would essentially eliminate the opportunity for anyone whose health does not permit them to engage at such a late hour, those whose jobs and schooling require them to be in bed long before the end of council meetings, all children, most of our aging community, the majority of our community who simply cannot give up an entire evening watching the television to find out when their turn to speak will begin, as well as those who do not have the background to understand the complexities of city council meeting procedures nor how to predict when open comment would even commence.

Additionally, this proposal will give even greater weight to those who already have an insider track to speak with our elected officials, and those who understand how the system works - a system which is already difficult to navigate for many. It will also make in-person comment essentially impossible for most. This city council has repeatedly asked for better and easier ways to hear from our community at large, particularly those who traditionally have been ignored or silenced; however, this proposal has the opposite effect. This proposal undercuts the very spirit of open comment and has the (presumably unintended) effect of sending the message that the people you are here to serve are an inconvenience to your work, rather than its purpose.

Several members of our board have served in elected roles, on board and commissions, and have run for office. We are not unaware of the stresses of your job and we have experienced many similar occurrences in our own terms of public service. It is, however, the job you asked for and one which the people of this city have entrusted to you, and it is one which we hope you will continue to honor with integrity. 

We support you in ensuring your safety and the safety of all who come to your meetings, and we believe that chambers should be a place that is welcoming for all. We also believe that the right of the people of this city to speak to you directly, without barriers to participation, and in a manner that is accessible and welcoming, is at the core of our public process.

We look forward to hearing your discussion on this matter and are available to speak more in advance.

Sincerely,

Boulder Progressives Board