Burbank’s Council Airs Free Speech, Bad Taste : Televised Meetings Can Become Forum for Racist Diatribes, Nazi Presidential Campaign

It had been a long night for Robert Martell. He had waited more than two hours to speak at last Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting during the public comment portion, and he was tired.

“I damn near went to sleep,” Martell, 67, said in a slightly slurred, homey tone after shuffling slowly to the lectern. Many city officials and some high school students sitting in the chamber chuckled.

Then, as he has done many times during the past year, Martell got to his main point: his run for the presidency of the United States under the American Nazi Party. Speaking into the microphone, he declared he was more qualified to head the nation than Democratic presidential candidates Michael Dukakis and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“I don’t think of Nukakis or whatever his name is,” said Martell, smiling. “And Jesse Jackson--I don’t think of him at all. He should go back to Africa with the rest of the crowd.”

The racist statement was typical of Martell’s weekly diatribes at Burbank council meetings, which are available in live broadcasts to tens of thousands of households over the city’s public access channel. Although Martell has been a fixture at the meetings for about two years, recently his remarks have grown harsher, prompting city officials to search for a solution to the problem.

Similar situations have posed dilemmas for officials of municipalities all over Los Angeles County where civic meetings are broadcast live: how to keep the decorum of the proceedings and maintain standards for tastefulness while ensuring freedom of expression for citizens.

Hoping for Best

Officials in cities such as Beverly Hills and Gardena, for example, say they cross their fingers and hope that boisterous, angry remarks don’t get out of hand. The mayor of Long Beach, on the other hand, utilizes a button to silence a microphone when residents make slanderous or insulting remarks.

Up until now, Martell has been allowed to continue his campaign in Burbank without being muted. But viewers are beginning to register complaints and council members are expressing concern that such offensive comments be silenced.

During past meetings, council members occasionally have warned Martell that his statements do not relate to city business, and that he should address only local issues. Martell will then switch topics and ramble about potholes or how a vacant lot in the city should be used.

Part of the council’s tolerance of Martell has to do with his demeanor and age, officials admitted. With his outfit of suspenders and baggy pants, Martell strikes an unassuming, grandfatherly figure.

“A lot more would be said and done if he were a young man,” said Mayor Al F. Dossin, whose duty it is to keep order during meetings. “But when he has this arthritic problem and is hobbling, it’s hard to take him seriously.”

Dossin said he would take a firmer hand with Martell in the future. “I’m simply going to make it a practice that we tell people we will not tolerate those kinds of statements.”

‘Despicable’

Two council members say more should have been done already to diminish Martell’s presentations. “I would have moved much quicker to curtail his comments,” Vice Mayor Robert R. Bowne said. “He is viewed by some as being innocuous, but those kinds of comments are despicable and un-American,” Bowne said. “It reflects on the city in a negative way.”

Councilwoman Mary E. Kelsey agreed. “I wouldn’t have let him go on the way he has,” she said. “His statements are outrageous.”

The guidelines for public speaking during council meetings are printed on the council’s weekly agenda. They stipulate that any person can address the council on “any matter concerning the city’s business” or on any agenda item.

The instructions also note that the council “requests that you observe the order and decorum of our Council Chamber and that you refrain from making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks.”

In the most extreme cases, Burbank council critics who have become particularly boisterous have been escorted from the chambers by a sergeant-at-arms who is always present, usually the city’s police chief. This occurs maybe twice a year, and after a short period of about 15-20 minutes, the offenders have, for the most part, been allowed to return.

Executives for Sammons Communications, the cable company that broadcasts Burbank’s council meetings over a public access channel, said they are powerless to censor or delete any remarks from council broadcasts.

Tom Robbins, general manager for Sammons, said, “We exercise no editorial control over those kinds of programs except for Federal Communications Commission standards,” which include ruling out solicitation for money and any political campaigning.

Although the meetings are broadcast over public airwaves, it is the responsibility of the government body to oversee conduct and content, Robbins said.

And even though Martell claims he’s running for president in his statements, City Atty. Douglas Holland said he does not see the remarks as a blatant abuse of the FCC rules prohibiting campaigning. He said he doubted if Martell is taken seriously by viewers or officials.

Holland added that offensive statements uttered during a council meeting would be seen as an “incidental aspect of a live event,” notably a council meeting. It would be the responsibility of the council, not the broadcasters, to control the airing of the statements.

“We can’t prohibit someone from speaking unpopular ideas,” Holland said. “A council member can argue with that person that it’s not the proper forum for the expression of those ideas, but then that rule has to be enforced across-the-board. You can’t regulate the First Amendment because you don’t like what’s being said.

“The council is only obligated under state law to have oral communications for the purpose of public comment on issues that affect Burbank,” Holland said. “But this council customarily has allowed a more free rein in regard to that kind of forum. They listen to a broader range of comments.”

No Complaints

Robbins said he has received no complaints about Martell or other frequent council critics from viewers. He reiterated that he has no control over what is said during the meetings.

One upset viewer said he believed the council should take action to stop Martell from espousing his controversial views during broadcasts.

“I don’t see how this council can allow someone to advertise something like this,” said the viewer, Charles Justice, who interrupted his house painting one night to rush down to council chambers to protest. “This downgrades the community.”

Council members also said they’ve received some complaints from people watching the meetings at home.

Some other municipalities that broadcast their meetings have encountered similar problems. Warren Harwood, vice mayor of Long Beach, said that on several occasions, people have gotten up at council meetings there “and made bizarre and slanderous remarks.”

He added that when the statements tend to get out of hand, the mayor uses a “mute” button that shuts off the speakers’ microphone.

“Citizens should be able to say what they think, generally,” Harwood said. “I think it’s healthy.”

Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert said that disabled activists recently protested during a meeting that they were being mistreated by the rapid transit system there.

“One of them said, ‘We don’t like being treated like niggers,’ ” she said. “Luckily, things like that don’t get said too often.”

In an interview, Martell said he would continue to make his statements at the Burbank council meetings. “If I went to a newspaper, they wouldn’t print what I had to say,” he said. “I’m not out to win any popularity contests. I just have some ideas about what should be done.”