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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 - City Positions and Supporting a Diverse Community - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:18 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: Newspaper Articles maligning Scott Peotter From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:18:26 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Newspaper Articles maligning Scott Peotter For the record. From: Bonnie O'Neil [mailto:boneilseven(damail.coml Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2015 11:42 AM To: Dept - City Council Subject: Newspaper Articles maligning Scott Peotter Dear City Council, I read the five newspaper articles that described comments Councilman Scott Peotter made and sent to those on his private email newsletter link. My first thought was who would take the time and energy to contact so many media sources in order to intentionally malign the Councilman. Logic says it must be someone who either has a problem with Peotter and did so to harm him or someone who resents any criticism of the Supreme Court decision that mandated homosexual marriages in every state. Peotter's statement was directed more at the Supreme Court Justices, who ignored historical American traditions and laws; even ignored their duty to recuse themselves if they have a known bias, in order to mandate the highly controversial new law, Therefore, it seems appropriate that those on Peotters' news list know his political viewpoint on the subject. When a councilman no longer is able to express his opinion on a subject, without retribution, it is an indication America has indeed lost the perspective of our forefathers; those brilliant men who had studied history and knew the nature of mankind. The valued gift they provided us "freedom of speech" is being severely tested in America today, and people, certainly this City Council, must recognize that and act accordingly. We may never know who chose to publicly malign the Councilman, but any more public mention of it will serve no good purpose, other than for those who want to "fundamentally change" America by silencing any speech with which they disagree. Bonnie O Neil Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:17 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: Register newspaper article From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:17:09 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Register newspaper article For the record. From: Steve Short [mailto:niahtskvtours0hotmail.coml Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2015 10:14 PM To: Dept - City Council Subject: Register newspaper article Hello Scott! read the article in the Register about how the LGBT did not like your newsletter comments about the gay community. Well too bad, your comments about the White House and everything else was right on! Please don't back down or apologize. We heard you speak at the last Costa Mesa Tea Party meeting and I thought you spoke well for the silent majority. Now I am sure you are on the side of right & reason. I could not find an email address for that Kevin O'Grady who was so unhappy about your statements. Too bad as I wanted to blast him hard and let him know there is no such thing as gay pride, just Gay Shame!! Thanks, Steve & Bonnie Short Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:12 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: News paper From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:12:07 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: News paper For the record. From: Tom gertsen [mailto:tomoertsenCalcox.net] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 10:12 AM To: Dept - City Council Subject: News paper I support Scotts view on gay marriage. He is a strong and courageous man for not going with the cowardly "politically correct" crowd. Scott is entitled to his opinion like everyone else and God is on his side. God bless Scott TOM GERTSEN Reflections Video Productions (949) 916-5807 Meet Tom here at this link: http://www.reflectionsvideoproductions.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOnQmKIP nc 1 Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Buzby, Lisa Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:35 AM To: Brown, Leilani Cc: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer Subject: FW: Scott Peotter Another letter regarding Council Member Peotter. Lisa Buzby Ext. 3131 From: Laura McCants [ma ilto:lauramccantsCalcox.net ] Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2015 10:20 PM To: Buzby, Lisa Subject: Scott Peotter Dear Mr. Harp - Please see my email to the City Manager and Council below. Please do whatever you can to stop this bullying and bigoted behavior on the part of Mr. Peotter. Respectfully, Laura McCants Dear Mr. Kiff - Below is an email that I have sent to all of the Council Members this evening. I understand that you are potentially in a precarious position on this matter in a few ways, but specifically that you work at the Councils pleasure and your livelihood depends on them. However, please work for the Residents (behind the scenes if you need to), to stop this bully. He just wants a platform to spew his personal beliefs and hatred from. He is an embarrassment to our City and to all of us who appreciate the hard and really good work that you and your staff do for all of us. Please let me know what else we can do to stop this man? Respectfully, Laura McCants Please join the other Council Members and find a way to censure Mr. Peotter. Scott has been trying to hide his bigoted feelings behind Christianity and using the City of Newport Beach as his pulpit. He spews hate that the rest of us Christians don't believe in. God made all men and women and he doesn't make any junk. This man seems to be self serving and petty. He spends the Councils and the Staffs time constantly looking at what HAS been done by previous Councils, instead of what NEEDS to be done for our city. I don't believe he represents the City of Newport Beach in a professional way, he is embarrassing. He is also a cheater, when it comes to campaign contributions. He thinks he can just pretend he doesn't know what he is doing, but he does. If he has run his own business for 35 years, shouldn't he be able to keep better books? Is this what he teaches his children? You just pretend you don't know what you are doing, then when you get caught, you play dumb? Is this what we are teaching our children and grandchildren? That it's okay for people in power to get away with this behavior? We wouldn't let our children, co-workers, employees or friends get away with this, would you ? Please, do the right thing and stand up for all of us who are watching. Respectfully, Laura McCants Newport Beach, CA 949-910-0411 Sent from iPad Laura McCants 949-910-0411 Sent from iPad Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:33 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: Peotter - Action needed From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:33:27 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Peotter - Action needed For the record From: ourlworld@)gmail.com [mailto:ourlworldCcbgmail.com] On Behalf Of Cathy Lam Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 4:48 PM To: Dept - City Council Subject: Peotter - Action needed Dear Dave Kiff and Mayor Selich- The hatred email from Peotter is a serious violation of city policy. Mr Peotter need to make a public apology for his views using my tax dollars and the city must take into consideration with policy on how we deal with this type of bigotry in the future with all employees. I'm embarrassed living in affluent Newport Beach to have a council member publicly promote hatred division. He has no business to be in this city nor anywhere. After Disneyland, City of Newport Beach is the next prime tourist attraction in OC. The city boast to receive millions of dollars from tourism with the NB Christmas light parade, NB FilmFest, Jazz Fest, Summer Concert Series, Food and Wine Fest, Taste of Newport and many shopping centers and prime coastal venues for wedding and business events. I don't want to see Newport Beach to be seen as anti LGBT and invite others to come to commit act of violence because we have council member such as Mr. Peotter that cannot tolerate LGBT community. I am currently out of town and cannot be at the city council meeting on July 14, but I want to make sure to send in my comments and requests Regards, Cathy Lam 2318 Heather Lane Newport Beach, CA 92660 714 330 3589 Former Newport Bay Conservancy Board Member Volunteer, Community Based Restoration Education, Back Bay Science Center CERT Volunteer - Certified Emergency Response Team Advisory Board Member of Viet Rainbow of OC Founder, Ourl World Program Officer, Vietnamese American NonGovernmental Network Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:33 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: City Council Special Meeting & Free Speech From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32:56 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: City Council Special Meeting & Free Speech For the record. -----Original Message ----- From: Ruth Kobayashi (mailto:ruthkobavashi@cox.net] Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 9:29 PM To: Dept - City Council Subject: City Council Special Meeting & Free Speech Dear City Council members, I have been a resident of Newport Beach for nearly 40 years. It is my expectation that all citizens, employees, and public servants will be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, orientation, or political views. I fear that free speech seems to have taken a back seat to please a group of activists and that has prompted this email. It is not my intention to express agreement or disagreement with Mr. Peotter's views on the recent Supreme Court decision. I am not a supporter of Mr. Peotters... in fact, I voted against him in the recent election. It is, however, my intention to implore you to respect his freedom to his personal beliefs, and his religious values. The scheduling of a special meeting on July 14th with the following comment (Daily Pilot July 13, 2015) is actually alarming... "We know they're going to be there to express their views and we know they're going to want us to do something immediately," Selich said. "This is a way for us to put something on the agenda so we can take an action that could potentially address their concerns." What exactly is it that you want to "do" immediately? Our society, and certainly our City, must respect the rights of others to hold opinions that may differ with ours/yours, and respect the right to foundational principles of faith. If we lose that, we are no better than the totalitarian societies our bravest have fought against throughout the history of our country. The language that the activists are using seems to have made it's way into the halls of our City Council and it insists that differing views be called "hate speech" and not tolerated. I have no issue with requiring the use of the City seal be limited only to official City business, or to remind all on City Council that their views may not represent the Official City messaging, but you MAY NOT tell any City Council member that they are hateful for holding an opinion that differs from yours, you may not provide a forum for hate speech against Mr. Peotter or any City Council Member who activists disagree with, and you MAY NOT diminish religious values - EVER. Totalitarianism will not be accepted in the City of Newport Beach. Thank you for your commitment to our City and for the thankless hours that you devote for our benefit. I know you will do the right thing and ensure that all are welcome at City Hall -liberals, conservatives, traditionalists, activists, all races, orientations, and religions. Sincerely, Ruth Sanchez Kobayashi Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:33 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer, Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: LGBT issues From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32:43 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: LGBT issues For the record. -----Original Message ----- From: Tom Pike [mailto:thomasnikeIPcox.net] Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 10:32 PM To: Dept - City Council Subject: LGBT issues Mayor Selich- I appreciate the special meeting to deal with this issue. For me all it would take to fix this would be an official announcement that Newport Beach would fly a rainbow flag for a day in the near future affirming LGBT NB citizens. Then fly it every pride day in June for a day. All we want is to feel like we're part of this. That we're not marginalized or relegated to second class citizenship anymore. Thanks, Tom Pike Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: Haters From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32:10 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Haters For the record. -----Original Message ----- From: Laura Salveson[mailto:camorubiconCcDgmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 8:32 AM To: Peotter, Scott; Dept - City Council Subject: Haters Hi Scott, You are what was known one thousand years ago as a knight. You are fighting for virtue. You are at the front line protecting your village. You don't cut and run but rather absorb the blows with valor on our behalf. Thank you. It is common knowledge that disordered people of any stripe cannot engage in debate using reason or logic. They know they will fail miserably. That is why they resort to name calling - always. They attempt to deflect their intellectual immaturity by hurling insults, damaging reputations and destroying ones livelihood. A culture of hate. It's guerrilla warfare. Yet we must always rise above and behave with maturity, even when the gatekeepers, our courts and leaders, descend to the lowest level. Then we are left on our own. But we must stand firm and keep our eye always on the bigger picture. We must vow always to do what is right, come what may. Being moral has never been easy. It's just especially challenging today as we watch Russia claim decency for itself while our beloved America spins down the drain. God bless you and your family. He already is. Laura Salveson Sent from my iPad Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. ' From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: Hate mail From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2.015 9:31:59 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Hate mail For the record. From: Laura Salveson fmailto:camprubicon(a)amail com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 8:09 AM To: Dept - City Council Subject: Fwd: Hate mail Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: "Peotter, Scott' <s eotter(a newnortbeachca.eoy> Date: July 13, 2015 at 11:05:14 PM PDT To: Laura Salveson <camnrubiconna,email.com> Subject: RE: Hate mail Thanks Laura. Would you consider sending this email to the entire city council? If you send this to: citycouncil@newportbeachca.gov it will automatically go to all of us. THis will be a very hateful meeting tomorrow night. I would appreciate your prayer. THANKS SCOTTPEOTTER NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL Representing the 6th District From: Laura Salveson [camorubiconna =ail.com] Sent: Monday, July 13, 2015 4:26 PM To: Peotter, Scott Subject: Hate mail Dear Mr. Peotter, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your strength. Bravo. I've had many gay friends whom I've very fond of am fond of but these hateful anarchists have stepped over the line. Bad behavior which would land others in jail is now tolerated. Upside down! Now they're hurling feces at Christians. And Putin is dancing on our grave. Laura Salveson. PS. Our friends are all in agreement. Sent from my iPad z Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:32 AM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: comments and proposed changes to Resolution 2015-63. From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:31:45 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: comments and proposed changes to Resolution 2015-63. For the record From: Kurt English [mailto:ke@keenglish.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 2:16 AM To: Dept - City Council Subject: comments and proposed changes to Resolution 2015-63. To the members of the Newport Beach City Council: Here are my comments and proposed changes to Resolution 2015-63 Kurt English PROBLEMS WITH RESOLUTION 2015-63 I have a number of concerns about proposed Resolution 2015-63. It looks like it was prepared in haste. I believe it needs more thought and a number of changes. THE SECOND & THIRD RECITALS All recitals naming Mr. Peotter personally need to be removed. This appears to be a political statement rather than a policy statement. THE THIRD & FOURTH RECITALS Any private citizen has the right to send an email from a personal email account with a photo of any government building or symbol in the expression of political speech. Such political speech is protected and cannot be regulated by the government. It is inappropriate for the city to be "concerned" about the "expression of private personal opinions authorized under the First Amendment." Taxpayers paid for the over -priced city hall that was rejected by voters last November. Whether the taxpayer is a council member or a member of the public, we've all already paid for that logo and right to use it many times over. City council members are taxpayers too. The email that started this discussion was sent by Mr. Peotter from his personal or campaign email account to his supporters. I don't believe there is any good faith misunderstanding whether Mr. Peotter was representing an official city position. Clearly he was speaking on behalf of himself, and such speech is protected by his First Amendment rights. Mr. Peotter sent this email from his own personal email account. The city has no right to regulate the content of personal email correspondence containing political statements. SECTION 1 Proposed Resolution 2015-63 looks like prior censorship, which I recall is prohibited by a well-known US Supreme Court decision. A majority of the city council may not determine what a minority of council members may or may not say. This would infringe on those council member's free speech rights, and potentially create liability for the city. Proposed Resolution 2015-63 would promote viewpoint discrimination by majority vote. Proposed Resolution 2015-63 is vague and too broad. It could be difficult to interpret, and invite unnecessary and avoidable litigation against the city. Therefore, it would risk potential unnecessary and avoidable costs. Proposed Resolution 2015-63 should be amended to affirmatively protect the free speech rights of council members making statements using personal email. No member of the public could reasonably believe that any statement or opinion expressed by a council member in correspondence from a personal email or a campaign email would be an official statement of any position or policy of the City of Newport Beach. Common sense would indicate that such statements would be advocacy of future council action or commentary on a political or government matters rather than official statements of city policy. SECTON4 Section 4 of the resolution appears to contemplate the Resolution 2015-63's unconstitutionality. This should indicate the need to modify the resolution to comply with free speech protections. ATTACHED CORRESPONDENCE TO RESOLUTION z Only critical emails toward Mr. Peotter appear to be included in the city's 24 page document that included Resolution 2015-63. My understanding is that there are a wide variety of views. Therefore, the resolution looks like a political statement rather than a policy statement. HOW TO FIX RESOLUTION 2015-63 Develop a policy that does not infringe on or regulate free speech rights. Limit Resolution 2015-63 to apply to email sent from city email addresses. Perhaps a disclaimer included on each email from city email accounts would be a compromise that would be more appropriate? One approach would be to impose a requirement that ALL email from ALL city email addresses automatically has a footer that states: "DISCLAIMER: This statement or opinion cannot be construed by the public as being a position or policy of the City of Newport Beach." Then the occasional email that does state city policies explicitly approved by a majority vote of the council could be identified affirmatively as city policy, contrary to the general rule contained in the footer. COUNCIL MEMBERS NEED TO FOCUS ON CUTTING CITY SPENDING Why did the council make a special meeting for this issue? There was a seminal election in November 2014 where the voters told the council to cut city spending. Why isn't the council focusing on cutting the city's overspending in this special meeting, instead of catering to a few far -left protesters complaining about the contents of a personal email containing protected free speech not related to city business? 3 Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Torres, Michael Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 7:50 AM To: Brown, Leilani Subject: FW: Failure to Prosecute Willful Misconduct From: Buzby, Lisa Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 7:50 AM To: Harp, Aaron; Torres, Michael Subject: FW: Failure to Prosecute Willful Misconduct I received this email and have saved it to the matter. Lisa Buzby Ext. 3131 From: Ralph Sims fmailto:ralohsimsC&icloud.com] Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2015 11:42 AM To: Buzby, Lisa Subject: Failure to Prosecute Willful Misconduct Sunday, July 12, 2015, Councilman Scott Peotter, published a commentary in the Los Angeles Times "Daily Pilot hi his closing paragraph Peotter confesses to have willfully used the City of Newport Beach seal to disseminate his personal opinion regarding the conflict between his religious beliefs and the recent SCOTUS decision re marriage. This is a clear, unambiguous violation of Newport Beach Council Policy Manual, Section A-8, which provides, inter alia. "... Use of City stationery for private personal matter is not permitted... " The City Attorney has a duty to pursue the statutory remedy for this willful misconduct. California Government Code Section 3060, provides: An accusation in writing against any officer of a... city, ... for willful or corrupt misconduct in office, may be presented by the grand jury of the countyfor, or in, which the officer accused is elected or appointed.... Therefore, I beseech your office to fulfill its obligation and commence the process of removing the Councilman for his intentional, harmful misconduct. Ralph Sims 714-788-3744 107 Abalone Avenue Newport Beach, CA 92662 rlsesq@gmail.com Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Sent: To: Subject: From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: Upcoming For the record. City Clerk's Office Tuesday, July 14, 2015 11:44 AM McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer; Rieff, Kim FW: Upcoming Meeting 2015 11:43:39 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) Meeting From: Debbie McCarthy [mailto:debmac6(aDgmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 11:43 AM To: Dept - City Council Subject: Upcoming Meeting Dear City Council Members, I am a resident of Newport Beach. It has come to my attention that tomorrow evening you will be holding a special meeting to address the LGBT community's concerns regarding Mr. Peotter's recent publications of his personal beliefs. As you prepare to hear the LGBT concerns I would like you to acknowledge that there are countless people who agree with Mr. Peotter's views and who also support a democratic society whereby our citizens are allowed to express differing views without persecution. As Mr. Peotter stated, "Democracy requires different opinions. This is a debate a free society should have." and one, I might add, is what hundreds of thousands of men and women have died for; protecting our rights, our 1st Amendment Right, to free speech. I have read Mr. Peotter's commentary and do not view his comments as being hateful. He eloquently stated his beliefs in a non -threatening manner. In contrast, Kevin O'Grady, the executive director of the LGBT Center of OC, is not only threatening Mr. Peotter but he is also unjustly attacking him. Mr. O'Grady's comment, "He needs to know there are consequences to his hate speech" concerns me because it sounds like the LGBT community wants to essentially lynch Mr. Peotter. It is my expectation that all of our city council members will uphold every citizen's rights in our community to exercise their 1st Amendment Right of free speech. Please do not allow our freedoms to be taken away by a small, but loud, group of individuals. Just as the LGBT community has a right to their opinions so does each member of our community. Thank you for your service to our city. Sincerely, Deborah McCarthy Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Lori Morris <lorirmorris@gmail,com> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 12:50 PM To: Kiff, Dave; Selich, Edward; Diane Dixon; Petros, Tony; Brown, Leilani; Harp, Aaron; Curry, Keith Cc: Cindy Koller; Wetherholt, Drew Subject: Special Meeting 7-14-15 Hello To All: Please add this to the record regarding this evenings "Special Meeting" correspondence. I would like to show my support for the Council members and staff who have been negatively affected by Scott Peotter's actions, now and in the past and surely in the future. I will be at tonight's meeting as a show of support for our city staff and for the City of Newport Beach's good name. All who have worked to quell the media storm and the embarrassment that has been heaped on our great city deserve more then just a Thank You but an apology from the repeat offender, Mr. Peotter, I doubt there will be one forthcoming and that is a shame. I'm sure city staff had to work hard to bring about this Resolution and it took time and energy away from the business of the city, our entire Council Meeting tonight has to be dedicated to restoring our good name. For that reason and many others, I would again ask that Mr. Peotter be requested to step down or at the very least be censured. He has been nothing but divisive and self promoting at the expense of the residents of Newport Beach. As a resident I say enough is enough and would hope all of you feel the same way. Lori Morris West Newport Beach Resident. Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Rosalie De Vito <rosaliedevito@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 12:50 PM To: Dixon, Diane; Petros, Tony, Duffield, Duffy; Muldoon, Kevin; Selich, Edward; Peotter, Scott; Curry, Keith; Kiff, Dave; Brown, Leilani Subject: Newport Beach Council Meeting July 14, 2015 I am not able to attend the Newport Beach Council Meeting this evening but I feel the need to email and let you know my thoughts. I profoundly protest Councilmember Peotter's hate speech! I am mother, mother-in-law and grandmother to three of the most wonderful people you would ever want to know. Lovely, bright, accomplished, good citizens and good people! My daughter and daughter in law could not "marry" until marriage became legal in New York City where they reside. My daughter-in-law could not be named as a parent to my granddaughter until she "adopted" her (after a period of time and much money spent while other citizens of the U.S.A. enjoyed the benefits of legal marriage.) Last week, following the Supreme Court's ruling on Marriage Equality, which I've worked hard and long to witness, Newport Beach City Councilman Scott Peotter sent a hate -filled homophobic email to his constituents with pictures of same-sex couples kissing and of the White House lit up like a rainbow. He posted this bigoted statement under the seal of The City of Newport Beach. We, you and I, can not and must not be silent when an elected official uses his position to spew hateful, hurtful, anti-igbt rhetoric. This sort of rhetoric can have a depressive and psychosocial impact, inspires hatred and violence, and causes harm to LGBT people and families, and especially to vulnerable LGBT youth. I demand a stronger response from the City of Newport Beach, the Mayor and the City Council, that the City of Newport Beach become a Safe Zone in Orange County by completing a cultural competency training provided by the youth leaders and staff from the LGBT Center OC., that Councilmember Peotter and the rest of the City Council, Mayor and staff members engage in this training and work with community members to determine a community -wide plan of action to ensure that Newport Beach is welcoming to LGBT individuals and their families. Thank you. Rosalie C. De Vito 24211 La Pala Lane Mission Viejo CA 92691-4424 Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: Wetherholt, Drew <Drew.Wetherholt@marcusmillichap.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 1:50 PM To: Selich, Edward; Diane Dixon; Petros, Tony; Curry, Keith; Kevin M. Muldoon (kevinmmuldoon@yahoo.com); Duffield, Duffy Cc: Kiff, Dave; Brown, Leilani Subject: Peeotter Mayor Selich & Councilmembers: Scott Peeotter is an ignorant, destructive embarrassment to our community and he should be removed from Council. His behavior, speech and actions are grossly unacceptable for a representative of the City of Newport Beach. He continues to be a disgrace and a liability to our community. Peeotter's recent statements are certainly not in line with most of the residents of Newport Beach. I also find him to be disrespectful and an embarrassment to Christianity. Using faith to attack and discriminate against people different than oneself is pathetically disgusting. I would encourage you to demand that Peeotter resign immediately or at the very least be censured. He cannot continue to be allowed to be destructive to our residents, visitors, and our City. Thank you, Drew Wetherholt Family 23 -Year Resident Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: City Clerk's Office Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:10 PM To: McDonald, Cristal; Mulvey, Jennifer, Rieff, Kim Subject: FW: We fully support Peotter's right to free speech. Stop the gay McCarthys! From: Kiff, Dave Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:10:25 PM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: City Clerk's Office Subject: FW: We fully support Peotter's right to free speech. Stop the gay McCarthys! For the record. From: Jody Tamsin [mailto:iodvtamsinCabgmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 3:10 PM To: Dept - City Council Subject: We fully support Peotter's right to free speech. Stop the gay McCarthys! CAPITAL OFFICE EO. Box 376600 • Sacrameom, CA 95827 916.857.6900 • FAX 916,857.6902 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFICE P.O. Box 11630 > Saua An . CA 92711 714.796.7150 • FAX 714.796.7182 SF BAYAREA OFFICE 212 -9th Street • Oakland, CA 94607 510.834.7232 • FAX 510.834.8784 � l� >.r PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE VIA E-MAIL TO AVOID DELAY July 14, 2015 Newport Beach City Council Newport Beach, California citycouncilCa newportbeachca.gov RE: Special session proposing limits on free speech Dear City Council Members, Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 EDWIN MEME, III, ESQ. Former Attorney General Advisory Board Cbahman BuD W. Dacus, Esq. President It has come to our attention that you have called a special session on very short notice tonight to address comments made by Councilman Scott Peotter in the wake of the Supreme Court's controversial marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges. We are alarmed that the prophetic warnings of the dissenting Justices in Obergefell about efforts to silence traditional marriage views are threatening to become a reality so quickly in Orange County. Justice Alito warned that the decision "will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy." ( Obergefell, Slip Op. at p. 6 (Alito, J., dissenting). Further, we were warned that the majority's reasoning "will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent." Id. Newport Beach is surely more tolerant of opposing viewpoints than this resolution suggests. It is absolutely crucial that you maintain free and open political and social dialogue on the foremost questions of the day. The proposed resolution unconstitutionally restrains Councilman Peotter's speech and would be vulnerable in court. The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction in California and throughout the West Coast, has in two major cases sided with local elected officials who opined on hot -button social issues in ways that offended others. In American Family Association v. City and County of San Francisco, 277 F.3d 1114 (9th Cir. 2002) conservative groups filed suit after the supervisors issued vitriolic denunciations of their beliefs on homosexuality and even urged local media not to accept their advertising. The Ninth Circuit determined that, even though the speech was very hostile and offensive to the plaintiffs, it was permissible government speech, particularly since it was a non-binding resolution. A few years later, the court issued a similar ruling in Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights v. City and County of San Francisco, 624 F.3d 1043 (9th Cir. 2010). This time, the board had lambasted the Catholic Church and urged the local archbishop not to follow its teachings on homosexuality. Raising the Torch ofjustice for Our Civil Liberties" www. pacif cjmtice. org Again, the court turned back the challenge, leaving wide latitude for elected officials to address the issues of the day, even in ways that may offend their listeners. Councilman Peotter's rights are even stronger here, where he clearly speaks for himself and, unlike the passing of a resolution, cannot even take such official actions on his own. The purported risk of misperception that his comments might be accorded official status is illusory and untenable. We urge you to abandon this ill-conceived, unconstitutional endeavor to chill and censor the speech of an elected official. It is difficult to imagine anything more at odds with the Constitution's guarantee of robust political and social debate, uninhibited by government condemnation or censorship. Sincerely, � 4 /-%, ,_' Matthew B. McReynolds Senior Staff Attorney PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE 916.857.6900 mmcrevnolds@pii.org Received After Agenda Printed July 14, 2015 Special Meeting Item No. 1 From: scott.peotter@gmail.com on behalf of Scott Peotter <scott@taxfighter.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 4:26 PM To: Brown, Leilani Subject: Fwd: tonight's meeting Scott Peotter 949.250.7118 sent from my droid ---------- Forwarded message From: <jane@ianeterry.net> Date: Jul 14, 2015 3:55 PM Subject: tonight's meeting To: <scottgJtaxfiehter.com> Cc: While I disagree with your opinon regarding the Supreme Court's ruling, I more strongly object to activists organizing to cause you harm because of your stated opinion. If in fact you should not have spoken out in the manner in which you did, I believe the Mayor and council should chastise you, and let that be the end of it for the time being. For the record, as i understand the issue with Sweet Cakes, I do support Sweet Cakes in their efforts to honor their religion, but at the same time I also support the LGBT's right to be married. While I will not be present at tonight's meeting, I do hope this correspondence can, in some part, support your situation, and the proceedings at the Council meeting. This correspondence is for your support at this meeting, and is not to be used as fodder in newspapers nor journals of any kind. Regards, Jane Terry Jane Terry 1 949-644-0324 1 cell: 714-914-7949 1 jane@ianetemt net This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain privileged, proprietary, or otherwise private information. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original. Any other use of the email by you is prohibited.