Sacramento mayor and vice mayor caught on hot mic discussing council meeting disruptions
By David Aguilar, Denzen Cortez
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty and Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes were caught on a hot mic discussing ways to address disruptions during city council meetings after a contentious session Tuesday night.
The discussion followed the council’s approval of a grant from the Central California Intelligence Center. Disruptions in the crowd prompted Mayor McCarty to pause the meeting and clear the chambers.
A city live stream captured Talamantes approaching McCarty on the dais to discuss the issue.
“We should go over this disruptions thing, because if we want to ban somebody in the future, like to actually take them out, we have to point out specifically,” Talamantes said.
“I know, but the City Attorney said we can’t do that,” McCarty replied.
Talamantes responded, “We did it last time.”
McCarty added, “We can’t. I spent my first six months going over this. I wanted to give people, like, probation, like you can’t come.”
The audio ended when Talamantes realized the microphone was on and quickly turned it off.
KCRA 3’s Denzen Cortez spoke with Mary-Beth Moylan, associate dean of advocacy at McGeorge School of Law, who said California’s Brown Act requires local governments to keep meetings open to the public and allow opportunities for public comment. At the same time, she said the law allows cities to adopt rules governing how that public comment is conducted in order to maintain orderly meetings.
Sacramento’s own Council Rules of Procedure outline those standards, including speaker time limits and rules of decorum. The procedures also authorize the presiding officer to warn or remove disruptive attendees and, if necessary, clear the council chambers so the meeting can continue.
In a statement to KCRA, Mayor Kevin McCarty wrote:
Every Tuesday, Vice Mayor Talamantes and I are responsible for overseeing and ensuring transparent, accessible, and open Council meetings. Unfortunately, when meetings are repeatedly disrupted, we must discuss existing policies and rules to ensure Council meetings remain effective, orderly, and respectful for both the residents in attendance and the Councilmembers. We are committed to ensuring that all members of the public can access and engage safely without distraction or intimidation.
KCRA 3 made multiple attempts to obtain comment from Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes’ office but did not receive a response.
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