Waterbury Aldermen Rescind Speech Restrictions

The Waterbury Board of Aldermen rescinded a policy that limited comments from the public at its meetings after the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut warned that the restrictions violated free speech rights.

The policy prohibited “ad hominem, personal, malicious, slanderous or libelous remarks” during public speaking periods at board meetings and hearings. The ACLU of Connecticut pointed out in a Dec. 5, 2013 letter to Waterbury Mayor Neil M. O’Leary and the aldermen that the rules promoted viewpoint discrimination, which is forbidden by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by similar clauses of the Connecticut Constitution.

The board's leadership agreed at a meeting Dec. 5, hours after receiving the letter, to abandon the entire policy. That decision applied not only to the viewpoint discrimination section but other rules that drew complaints from the public, including a ban on comments about issues not on the agenda and time limits on how long aldermen could speak. The full board voted Dec. 9 to rescind the policy at a meeting that included a series of comments from residents who objected to the attempt to violate their free speech rights.

The ACLU of Connecticut acted on behalf of Cicero B. Booker Jr., a retired Waterbury police officer and honorary member of the ACLU of Connecticut Board of Directors.

Booker said he asked for help from the ACLU of Connecticut because he was outraged by the attempt to censor the public. "You can’t limit the right to question and criticize our government without damaging our democracy," he said. "I’m grateful to the ACLU of Connecticut for standing up for me and every other resident and taxpayer in Waterbury.”

The Waterbury policy was similar to one that the Winchester Board of Selectmen dropped after a July 25, 2013, letter from the ACLU of Connecticut. The Winchester policy forbade “personal complaints or defamatory comments” about board members, anyone connected with the town or members of the audience.

"The First Amendment allows people to speak openly and honestly about their government and to their government representatives," said Sandra Staub, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut. "We're glad that the Waterbury aldermen and Winsted selectmen listened to their constituents and recognized their constitutional right to free speech."