March 30, 2023
Pocatello–An hour before the City’s Town Hall meeting was scheduled to begin on Tuesday evening, the line of those waiting to add their names to the two Public Comment lists stretched halfway across the Council Chambers. By the time the meeting was opened, nearly 50 people had signed up to speak and the crowd had overflowed into the lobby.
After a brief greeting by Mayor Brian Blad, Library Director Eric Suess outlined Marshall Public Library’s criteria for choosing which materials to add to the collections, as well as the process by which an individual may challenge a book’s inclusion in the library. After a brief discussion between Suess and Councilman Josh Mansfield about previous and current book challenges, Mayor Blad opened the meeting for public comment
Blad explained that he would choose names alternately from both the sign-up sheets, and that each speaker would be allowed two minutes to share their remarks. He stressed the need for decorum, in order to avoid wasting time.
Though there were 49 names on the list, only 22 were able to speak before the meeting was adjourned at 7:30. Nine of the commenters explained that the material they object to is pornographic and therefore harmful to all children. Twelve people expressed their support for leaving such books in the library. Some denied that pornography is present in the library; some praised the books as “life-saving” for queer teens; and some stressed their commitment to diversity. One gentleman spoke on a different theme: lack of public transit access for the disabled.
Mayor Blad ended public comments promptly at 7:30. Several audience members, including District 29’s Republican Chairman David Worley, immediately called for the meeting to be extended until everyone who signed up to comment had been given the opportunity to speak. This the Mayor refused to do, and he swiftly closed the meeting.
After the meeting’s adjournment, many attendees expressed their disappointment at being denied a voice. Especially frustrated were those who came early and stood in line to secure a position at the front of the speaking schedule, only to be passed over in favor of those who arrived later. A public records request for the evening’s sign-up sheets revealed that instead of choosing names from the first page of each list, the names were chosen from page 1 of one list and page 2 of the other.
The video of the entire meeting is available on the City of Pocatello’s YouTube channel, or by clicking on the link below:
