PASADENA : Council Agrees to Clarify Ordinance Governing Conduct

The City Council has voted to clarify the city’s conduct ordinance, which is being challenged in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and by Councilman Isaac Richard as a violation of the 1st Amendment.

After a closed-session discussion about the lawsuit Monday, the council in open session approved a resolution to make clearer the 1992 ordinance requiring council members to be civil to one another. The resolution succeeded on a 5-1 vote, with Richard dissenting. Councilman Bill Crowfoot was absent.

Councilman Rick Cole said the resolution specifically notes that the city conduct ordinance applies only to “conduct, not speech. . . . Speech is protected by the 1st Amendment and I support that,” Cole said.

Richard, who has been censured twice after complaints from city staff members, lambasted the council members’ move, predicting that the city would still lose the lawsuit. Richard’s yearlong loss of privileges resulting from a June, 1993, censure ended Wednesday.