If the Pinellas County Commission's new rules for behavior at public meetings were meant to deny a small group of persistent critics a forum for their sometimes abusive rants, those rules failed miserably Tuesday afternoon. John Schestag, who has a history of run-ins with county officials, was arrested during the "citizens to be heard" session that begins each meeting. Told to leave the hearing room after he criticized the rules as "a type of censoring" and accused County Attorney Susan Churuti of lying, Schestag held out his wrists to be handcuffed, obviously a willing martyr. Schestag was charged with disorderly conduct, disrupting a public assembly and resisting arrest without violence.
Judging by his past behavior, Schestag isn't likely to be deterred by those sanctions, but they certainly could have a chilling effect on other residents who want to exercise their right to criticize the government. That would be a shame. Participatory democracy can be a messy business - loud, contentious, even offensive - but it has served us well.
We can understand that elected and appointed public officials tire of verbal abuse, and they should protect themselves from obviously threatening behavior. But the ability to develop a thick skin to criticism is one of the necessities for public service.
The restrictive rules of decorum that Pinellas commissioners adopted to insulate themselves from criticism go too far. Before Schestag spoke, Commissioner Susan Latvala summed up those rules this way: "I will not allow you to make derogatory comments or accusations against any of us, and if you do we will have you removed."
Derogatory comments, even accusations, are clearly within the constitutionally protected right of free speech. In fact, for better or worse, such speech has become the staple of elective politics.
At commission meetings, public comment is already limited to three minutes, and a speaker can address the same topic only once every 30 days. If the commission had allowed Schestag to let off steam - even biting their tongues the entire time - they would have denied him the publicity he obviously seeks. And they would have served the democratic process.
The commissioners should lighten up on their rules of decorum before those rules do more harm than any speaker's words.
