Norfolk City Council meetings have been marked by growing friction this summer over a rule that gives the mayor the ability to restrict public comments considered repetitive.
The policy has drawn sharp criticism from local residents who argue that limiting speech during public forums shuts down their primary direct channel to elected officials. City Council members, however, defend the rule as a way to stop organized advocacy groups from dominating public comment.
The council’s Rules of Procedure allow the mayor to shorten or deny a speaker’s time if their remarks are repetitive, cumulative or cover a topic that has already received sufficient debate in current or past sessions. The rules also say public remarks during new business must introduce new topics rather than rehash previous comments.
City Council enforced the rarely-used rule twice this summer, during its June 9 and July 14 sessions.
The policy was read during council sessions as members of the DeFlock Norfolk Coalition, a group pushing for the removal of automated license plate readers, turned out in large numbers for multiple months to voice opposition to the city’s use of Flock surveillance cameras.
When council leadership applied the rule to restrict the total number of speakers on the topic, organizers said they were forced to adapt quickly, swapping out planned speakers and altering their presentations on the fly.
Henry Reed, a representative of the DeFlock Coalition and Norfolk resident, told WHRO that strong turnout on a single issue should be recognized as a signal of deep community concern rather than dismissed as repetition.
“I believe that this censoring. This silencing of public speaking voices, it purposely puts a wall between the people and their councilors,” Reed said.
With council meetings scheduled on weekdays, coalition members note that public comment is often their only opportunity to engage leaders face-to-face. Reed said council members have reached out but daytime meetings don't work because it’s hard for members to take off work.
“We definitely have to take to the streets more because the proper channels, so to speak, have definitely been closed to us,” Reed said.
Tiara Lassiter, a Norfolk resident and community organizer, views repeated comments differently than elected officials as well, arguing that widespread public feedback on a single issue demonstrates how deeply the community cares, rather than serving as a reason to limit speakers.
“If serving people is beneath you, then leading people is beyond you,” Lassiter said.
A resident and community organizer with New Virginia Majority, Monet Johnson, argued at the July 14 meeting that the policy moves the council's focus away from administrative management.
“This council has shifted from regulating logistics to really regulating viewpoints,” Johnson said.
Samuel Wallace, who also addressed the council on July 14, shared that Councilman J.P. Paige reached out to him directly following a prior meeting, marking the first time any council member had initiated a conversation with him.
Mayor Kenny Alexander maintains that the rule is not intended to silence constituents, but to protect equal access for all Norfolk residents waiting to raise different community issues.
Alexander told WHRO the public comment period is meant to bring forward new business rather than function as a platform for extended, coordinated campaigns that fill the sign-up sheet.
“There are other people that’s waiting to talk about flooding, recreation, Lafayette Park or new schools,” Alexander said. “We want to get to all of those issues.”
Alexander added that the procedural rule was in place well before he became mayor. He stressed that formal council sessions are not the only way residents can connect with city leadership, noting that council members remain available through district office hours, email and local civic league meetings across the city.
“If you have 10, 15, 20 speakers who have come together and there is a concerted effort to fill every slot in that time frame, that’s not the intent of new business,” Alexander said. “When the city manager or city attorney alerts me that they have intelligence that this has become a campaign, at that point, I’m advised to enforce the rule.”
Alexander also emphasized that he has not used the rule to shut down comments on a particular issue from an individual citizen who has not previously addressed council, but to curb rehearsed presentations repeated across multiple speakers.
Paige, who represents Ward 4, said the most meaningful progress often happens off the dais, where council members can sit down directly with residents to clarify policies and discuss specific concerns.
“I’m willing to meet with anybody from any ward about any issue to try to build a bridge between the citizens and council for folks to have an understanding of why things are the way that they are,” he said in an interview.
Paige added that when residents speak passionately in front of council, his goal is to follow up with them after the meeting to ensure their concerns are addressed directly.
Residents who want to speak at council’s formal sessions have to register with the city clerk by 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Speakers get three minutes for general comments under new business, but they can also register to speak on specific agenda items.
The next City Council meeting is Aug. 25.
