THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 21, 1994 TAG: 9410190146
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Adele Whitener's disagreement over the Chesapeake City Council's decision to curb citizen comments at official meetings is made without words.
She says it with a homemade tag.
``This is a way to express our displeasure,'' said the Mill Pond Forest resident. ``It doesn't say anything in words, but it does attract attention and it does make people aware.''
Whitener's creation consists of a plastic name tag featuring a pair of ruby red lips framed by the universal ``anti'' or ``no'' symbol, with a small upside-down American flag in the corner. The entire tag is backed by a black mourning ribbon.
Whitener said she and her husband, James Whitener - who ran as an independent candidate for the City Council in the last election - will wear the tag until the new restrictions have been lifted.
``With this issue there is no room for compromise,'' she said. ``We disagree with anyone who messes with the basic right of free speech.''
Whitener, her husband and others are protesting an amendment to the council's rules that delays citizen comments on non-agenda items until after the council has adjourned, after the television cameras have been turned off and the city staff has been excused.
The amendment passed on Sept. 27 by a 6-2 vote, with Mayor William E. Ward and Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff casting the only two ``no'' votes.
In recent weeks several citizens have expressed their objection to the council's action, with Whitener leading the way with her ``silent'' pinned-on protest.
She said even though council's action was technically legal, it chipped away at the right of free speech.
``We think this issue crosses party lines,'' Whitener said. ``When we moved here, we found that the city is divided along neighborhood lines. Many times we found that the citizen comments informed others about danger or trouble spots in the city. Comments like that help everybody in the city. It helps alert people of common problems. It helps get people to work together.''
Using the family computer, Whitener came up with the ``anti/not'' symbol over a set of lips. Two more touches rounded out the design.
``We thought we'd use the upside down flag, which is the international emergency distress signal, and backed the button with a black ribbon to symbolize a sense of mourning for free speech in this city,'' she said.
Whitener, her husband, her 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter started a family assembly line and created 100 of the pinned protests, which the couple wore and passed out at City Council meetings.
So far, she said, she's heard no comments, pro or con, from any of the councilmen. But the reaction of citizens has been supportive, she said. Demand for the tags has been brisk.
``It's just a grassroots type of thing. It gets the message across,'' she said. ``I've been wearing the button to the mall and the supermarket, and people either ask me about it or notice it. Some turn their heads away from it while others want to know more and ask if they can get their own button.''
Whitener, who moved to Chesapeake from New Jersey with her family, said citizen comment was welcome in her home state. She said she'd like to see Chesapeake invite more citizen participation in local government.
``I'd like to see the rules changed even further,'' she said. ``In New Jersey, during council meetings, all you had to do was raise your hand and you were called up and able to speak. We need more of that and more of the New England type of town meeting atmosphere.''
Whatever happens, Whitener urges citizens to attend council meetings regularly or at least watch them on cable television. She said it's every citizen's right, if not duty.
``There is nothing greater than attending public meetings,'' she said. ``You can watch the body language, see who's passing what to whom, who's talking to whom. It does show what is really going on with government.''
Until council rescinds its recent amendment or liberalizes its rules on citizen comment even further, you'll find Adele and James Whitener, their two children and other Chesapeake citizens carrying on with the silent protest for free speech.
If there's a demand for more tags, Adele Whitener can easily make up a new batch. It would be a labor of love, she said. MEMO: Concerned about the City Council's restriction on public comment at
official meetings? Contact Whitener at 479-1407 to get your own tag.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Adele Whitener's homemade tag shows her disapproval of City
Council's decision to curb citizen comments at official meetings.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL
by CNB