TUSTIN, Calif. — Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, Kimberly Adams was a regular attendee at Tustin City Council meetings.
“There’s a lot of power up on the dais and it’s empowering to be there and to have them listen to what the residents really want,” said Adams, a longtime Tustin resident.
Adams says she votes, attends city council meetings, and speaks during public comment. Tustin’s city council announced the public can now join and speak at meetings virtually on Zoom.
“Opening it up to virtual participation brings about an accessibility that didn’t exist previously,” said Adams.
The council meets twice a month at 5:30 in the evening. Adams says when her daughter was young, she’d have to find child care and before the COVID-19 pandemic, she’d have to leave work and try to get to City Hall in time to sign up to speak during public comment.
“The lack of accessibility to be able to go was really frustrating and it excludes some of the people who are impacted the most by these decisions,” said Adams.
In March of 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order allowing city councils to suspend public meeting requirements due to the pandemic. As some cities and counties are easing restrictions, there is a growing need to find ways to handle public comment going forward.
Tustin Mayor Letitia Clark was sworn into her current role in December. She says one of her goals as mayor is to add another level of transparency and accountability.
“That was really important to me, to provide that level playing field for the entire community so they can be right there having a seat at the table, participating in the big decisions that we’re making on behalf of the city,” said Mayor Clark.
She says the council hasn’t decided if it’ll continue virtual comments after the pandemic, but thinks the benefits are worth exploring.
“I was always interested to see what the public had to say about a certain item. It almost 99.9% of the time, influenced my decision on whether I would support it or oppose it, and that’s because we’re hearing directly from our community and essentially council members. We are elected to be the voice of our community,” said Mayor Clark.
Adams hopes virtual public comments are here to stay and other cities will follow Tustin’s lead.
“All big decisions are made locally and I don’t forget that. So the smallest things that affect us on a daily basis can happen at a city council,” said Adams.
The longtime Tustin resident says she’ll continue to attend her city council meetings, virtually or otherwise.
For more information, visit: tustinca.org/282/Meetings-Agendas.