After months of "abuse" by Mayor Gygi and his supporters, "harassing" CHCRG researcher Ken Cromar, inhibiting his First Amendment right to freely videotape public meetings, the issue was finally settled at the February 16th City Council meeting.
The winner? The Constitution & Utah State Code code & CH residents!
February 2, 2016 CH City Council Meeting – Ken Cromar's "disruptive" and "interrupting" camera quietly sits off to right side of room blocking no one or within 15 feet of anyone. (photo courtesy of Ken Cromar)
Mayor Gygi and his misinformed supporters lost, resulting in the City Council voting to change the city code. Gratefully, Mayor Gygi surprisingly concedes later on Feb 16th,
"Mr. Cromar… is 100% right on this issue."
Listen to the audio here…
Additional audio highlights from February 2 &16, 2016 City Council meetings available below.
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Cedar Hills City Council Meeting – February 16, 2016
At the beginning of the meeting, before the City Council discussed tweaking the Ordinance, Ken & Barbara Cromar read a prepared statement into the record during public comments regarding the illegality of the existing Ordinance.
The Cromars stated that at a golf committee public meeting October 8, 2015, two police officers were called in by the city managers to protect Ken from potential violence against him and his peaceful, non-disruptive videotaping.
Their Statement also explained that Ken has been harassed, publicly ridiculed, endangered and maligned by Mayor Gygi and his misinformed supporters who have regularly tried to hinder Mr. Cromar’s free access to recording of public meetings so long as he doesn’t disrupt the proceedings. No one is aware of any occasion he has disrupted a meeting, though Mayor Gygi and his supporters have interrupted their own meetings numerous times pretending that Ken was somehow disrupting the meetings despite his silently recording the meetings from the side of the room, away from the group, blocking no one or any walkways.
Audio exerpts from the February 2, 2016 City Council Meeting highlights their claim that Mayor Gygi, Councilman Daniel Zappala, and former Councilmember Cherrel Hagen interrupting the meeting, and Mayor Gygi threatening to have Ken Cromar removed and/or press charges against him here…
The Cromars stated that the City ordinance was illegal and hence null and void, and did not need to be followed because it infringed on their first Amendment rights and the State’s Utah Public and Open Meetings Act code.
The Cromars also quoted three Supreme Court findings have stated on numerous occasions various times and ways that:
“All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void.”
Marbury vs. Madison, 5 US (2Cranch) 137, 174, 176, (1803)
After Ken’s first portion of comments were read into the record, Mayor Gygi stated, “Mr. Cromar, you and I don’t agree on everything, but you are 100% right on this.”
Ken walked back to the microphone and asked, “So, I wonder where my apology is from all the other meetings where I’ve been abused, particularly by you mayor? Is that forthcoming?”
Mayor Gygi responded, “I don’t think I have abused you, but you are 100% right on this issue.” No apology was offered.
Listen to various February 16th Council Meeting highlights of the Cromars' presentation of their Statement regarding abuse, Mayor Gygi's admission Ken is "100% right on this issue" and denial of abuse, and the Council's debate and vote on changes to the city's existing videotaping ordinance…
Ken concluded reading their Statement with…
Oh, and by the way, you can say you don’t want to be recorded at a public meeting as the current Ordinance reads, but because this is an Open and Public City Council Meeting under Utah State Code and the First Amendment to the US Constitution, your protestation doesn’t matter to me or anyone else. If this upsets mayor Gygi and he really doesn’t want to be videotaped at a public meeting, he can simply resign his position as the mayor of Cedar Hills, and thereby his wish will be granted. I would be happy to see his wish be granted. — Thank you for your time.
(For a PDF of Ken & Barabara Cromar's complete Statement read into the public record during public comments Feb 16, 2016 see this CHCRG article here… http://www.cedarhillscitizens.org/statement-ken-barbara-cromar-city-harassed-with-illegal-ordinance/ )
After the Cromar's read their Statements, the City Council deliberated the proposed tweaks to the existing CH Code 1-5-7- PHOTOGRAPHY AND RECORDING AT PUBLIC MEETINGS. Councilman Rob Crawley questioned if any ordinance was necessary at all in light of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act already in place? City attorney David Shaw agreed that it covered the issue, but that the council can elaborate if they want to. Crawley recommended no ordinance. Council member Jenney Rees immediately made a motion to accept the ordinance as tweaked in the Work Session (no details available) and with Councilman Zappala’s addition to include the back of the room as well as a city approved place to record too, and also disallow cords or cables being allowed in walk ways etc., “for safety reasons”.
Gygi called for a vote. Zappala – Aye. Rees – Aye. Geddes – Aye, though he was late, missed much of the discussion, and might have recused himself from the vote. Crawley – Nay. And new Councilmen Ben Bailey courageously voted – Nay. Revised videotaping ordinance passed 3 to 2.
The two Council members voted against it because they preferred to scrap the Ordinance all together in favor of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act code already in place – which they believed made a city videotaping Ordinance unnecessary.
Ironically, there were a number of city microphone and power cords in the walkways of which photos were taken.
February 16, 2016 – CH Council meeting night ordinance was tweaked to remove un-Constitutional provisions and add “no cables in walkways to endanger the citizens”, at the very moment the city was doing just that. Note: Mr. Cromar reports his camera has always been wireless and without use of any power or microphone wiring. (photo courtesy of Ken Cromar)
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