Sugar Land mayor limits public speaking at meeting after residents speak on Israel-Hamas war

SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A decision by Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman to limit public comments during weekly City Council meetings is drawing controversy.

For several weeks now, Sugar Land residents have been using the City Council public comment period to ask the officials to pass a ceasefire resolution on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The comments are made during the public session period of city council meetings, and each speaker is allowed a typical three minutes.

However, this past Tuesday, Zimmerman said that residents would only be allowed to speak on agenda items, which does not include Middle East policy.

"Going forward, starting tonight, we'll be strictly enforcing our public policy, meaning speakers must speak on the agenda item and be respectful," Zimmerman, who read from prepared remarks, said.

He added that the first violation would be a verbal warning, then the speaker would have the microphone cut off, and continued efforts to speak on the issue could result in the speaker being arrested and charged.

Long-time Sugar Land resident Jorge Font was surprised by the tone.

"It was pretty abrupt and somewhat surprising that he would shut down input from probably the most diverse constituency in the U.S.," Font, who has a personal interest in international policy, said. "I would love to see the council reinstate comments on this because this is important to them, and he has a sworn duty to represent all his constituents, whether he's in agreement with their positions or not."

Font pointed out that Sugar Land has one of the most diverse populations in the country, with a sizeable Muslim population and several residents of Palestinian descent.

He also noted that all comments have been respectful so far, with no protests or anything disruptive.

Video of the Tuesday night council meeting showed the mayor stopping at least three speakers who began to talk about the Middle East conflict.

"I'm going to stop you right there. This does not have anything to do with the agenda item. This is going to be the first warning," he said to one woman.
"I hope that we can work with you to make the world a better place for your children to live and grow," said a local social studies teacher who only wanted to be identified by her first name, Inshirah.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the microphone," the mayor said again.

Each time, the speakers complied and peacefully walked away. But many remained unhappy.

"I teach my students about their rights to free speech, their right to protest. I teach them about their civic duty and about writing and reaching out to elected officials," Inshirah, a social studies teacher, said. "I would like for the mayor to allow people, his constituents, to speak freely. This is a concern that is affecting thousands of his constituents."

ABC13 reached out to Zimmerman on Friday afternoon. He was heading into a meeting and did not want to speak "off the cuff" to the media about his decision. He told Eyewitness News that he would schedule a meeting at a later date.

For comparison, in the City of Houston, public sessions have traditionally been a wide-open forum on any issues citizens want to bring up. There is a time limit, and police remove people who are rude or disruptive to City Council.

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