Earlier this month, as political gadfly Audra Morgan was sharing her views on behavioral health at a meeting of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, she punctuated her position with vulgarity and an offhand threat.
“You better listen real f—-ing close, because what you guys are doing is a racket,” she told the board. “It’s atrocious. Your time is coming. Your days are numbered.”
Nobody flinched. Nobody complained. None of the elected supervisors on the receiving end of Morgan’s tirade onished her not to express herself coarsely or warned that her speech would have consequences.
Instead, the public comments went forward — and grew more foreboding. Another frequent critic of the county later addressed the board and staff as “f—-ing c—-s” multiple times.
Acting Chair Terra Lawson-Remer responded by warning the speaker — a former county employee named Justin Castro, who was the subject last year of a restraining order sought by the county — to limit his comments to the agenda item at hand.
While insults and coarse language are not unusual at public meetings like the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, experts say the frequency has grown worse in recent years.
According to a University of San Diego study released last fall, 83% of public officials surveyed said that threats and harassment against office holders is a major problem. Two-thirds of respondents reported being targeted while serving in public office, and 31% of women said they face intimidation tactics every week.
“We see majorities of almost all demographic and partisanship groups agree that they frequency of threats and violence is on the rise,” researchers said.
The public meeting commentary can be more than insulting.
Former Supervisor Nora Vargas abruptly quit early this year, citing security concerns, just weeks after winning reelection. Vargas, who could not be reached for comment, had been a recurring target of much of the heated speech during meetings as the board’s chair.
Morgan, who frequently addresses the board as “Allegedly Audra,” told The San Diego Union-Tribune the speech used at county board meetings is a reflection of the environment that supervisors created.
“When I use vulgar language, it is due to the negligence of the BOS,” said Morgan, who was once dragged from the chamber by sheriff’s deputies, forced to the floor and handcuffed after then-Chair Nathan Fletcher declared her disruptive.
“When our freedom of speech is being attacked, the people stand up and fight back,” she said. “I believe foul language is part of free speech.”
Castro, who addresses the board as “The Gambler,” is a former registrar’s employee who has repeatedly claimed that the county refuses to correct fraudulent election practices. Last year, after he threatened coworkers, county officials sought and received a restraining order against him.
He also declined to explain why he addresses elected officials in sexist slurs.
Public comments at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors — and other agencies — have grown more adversarial since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health officials imposed mask mandates and other preventive measures, and when many local governments moved to virtual public comment.
Lawson-Remer and Supervisors Joel Anderson, Jim Desmond and Monica Montgomery Steppe did not respond to questions about balancing free speech and public decorum.
But spokesperson Tammy Glenn said in a statement that San Diego County appreciates public input and adopted new rules late last year aimed at promoting both participation and order at public meetings.
Among the changes implemented in January, speakers “shall not use” threatening, profane, slanderous or abusive language, she said.
“The public has every right to air grievances, criticize the county and raise issues of concern,” Glenn said. “However, the purpose of the board meetings is to conduct county business, which should be able to proceed without disruptions or threats.”
The updated protocols — approved after a prior attempt to rein in public speech failed — also allow the board chair to stop the meeting and confront an abusive speaker.
“The chairperson may, at the chairperson’s option, state to the person who has used such language that such language is unwanted, unwelcome, inappropriate and interferes with the ability of those present to listen and understand,” Glenn said.
The Board of Supervisors may be hamstrung by legal precedent.
Core tenets of American democracy include freedom of speech and the right to disagree publicly with the government. In a precedent-setting case, the Supreme Court in 1971 upheld the right of a man to wear a jacket with the words “F— the Draft.”
“The court recognized that profanity can be a powerful way to express deep conviction,” said Aaron Terr of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in Philadelphia. “That’s especially true when people feel ignored or mistreated by their government.”
Elected officials can prohibit conduct that disrupts meetings, or intervene if a speaker makes threats, speaks off topic or refuses to step away when their allotted time expires, Terr said.
“But all too often, public officials conflate disruption with speech they dislike,” he said. “Public comment may at times be uncomfortable. But the government doesn’t get to choose which words or criticisms are acceptable.”
Steven Dinkin, president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, said he is seeing more examples of public speech turning hateful.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the current lack of civility across society, and it is definitely a sign of the times,” said Dinkin, whose organization provides trainings and strategies to employers aimed at improving communications, productivity and human relations.
“We are getting calls from all over the country where organizations, companies, agencies are looking at trying to identify tools and strategies to de-escalate these situations,” he said.
Dinkin offered some suggestions to help San Diego County lower the temperature at board meetings, including posting a code of civil discourse inside the chambers.
He also said people on the receiving end of crude or heated criticism should not dismiss or exacerbate the complaints and be mindful of how their response might affect the behavior.
“They anticipate that you’re going to immediately push back,” Dinkin said. “What’s very effective is that you step aside, and by not pushing back, it puts the other individual off balance.”
By that measure, Lawson-Remer and other supervisors did well to avert confrontations with their antagonists.
Rachel Locke directs the Violence, Inequality and Power Lab at the University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice and co-authored last year’s study of threats and harassment against California elected officials.
Locke said officials must remain within the rules that govern interaction with the public and are leery of infringing on people’s First Amendment rights.
“That said, as far as I know, there is nothing stopping a (county supervisor) from stating unequivocally that certain language will not be tolerated,” she said. “For some, doing so may come with political consequences.”
Locke said elected officials are not the only ones who can promote positive public discourse.
“There’s nothing to stop a constituent from speaking up to refute the crude remarks of another constituent, doing so in a safe and respectful way,” she said. “Making clear that such language is not acceptable as a community norm is important.”
One speaker at a Board of Supervisors meeting two weeks ago took it upon herself to do just that.
Before activist Ilka Westin addressed the board about an item exploring the possibility of fighting private equity in the U.S. fire trucks market, she pleaded for more decorum in public speech.
“There is no reason to call any of you names or refer to any person individually,” Westin said, addressing the board but referring to other speakers. “When we come up here, it’s an honor, and we get to speak.
“I’m really sad that we have heard people call in and use foul language,” she said.
The Board of Supervisors will again convene at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
