Bob Chiaradio Chastises Westerly, RI Town Council Over Rules That Limit Public Forum To Agenda Items Thus Restricting Free Speech

Bob Chiaradio chastises the Westerly, RI town council over passage of rules that limit the two public comment periods to agenda items. Prior to 2024, the first public period was for agenda items and the second was for open public forum where the public could speak on any matter.

Restricting the public comment periods to agenda items only means the town council gets to limit the speech of their constituents and to address their elected officials on matters of concern.

He notes that Warwick also tried to impose restrictions on public comments and lost in court.

Mr. Chiaradio vehemently opposes this restriction on free speech and asks the town council to vote once again to put meeting rules back to pre-2024 regulation.