Seattle councilmember issues apology to commenter ignored at meeting

In a video that now has almost 400,000 views on YouTube, a public commenter at a Seattle City Council meeting — since identified as Richard Schwartz — can be seen entreating the council for their full attention, largely getting brushed off, and then running out of time before he could finish what he came to say.

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That meeting — presided over by District 5 Councilmember Debora Juarez — was on March 11, and now almost two weeks later, the first apology has finally come in, courtesy of District 9’s Lorena Gonzalez.

“Listening and learning from our constituents during public comment is an important part of my responsibility as an elected official. I apologize to the people of Seattle who believe we missed the mark on March 11,” Councilmember Gonzalez said Friday in a written statement.

Throughout the video, you can see councilmembers with their heads down, with some even looking at their phones throughout the two-minute affair. In the days since, many have come to the man’s defense, noting that listening to constituents is an integral part of civil service.

Councilmembers looking down during comments from Richard Schwartz

“Any elected official’s job is to listen and respond to their constituents — that is the basic responsibility of anyone elected to any position,” District 5 council candidate Ann Davison Sattler told KTTH’s Saul Spady.

RELATED: ‘Listen and respond to constituents,’ says council candidate

“You set aside 20 minutes out of the week supposedly for public comment, and I just don’t understand why during those 20 minutes you can’t detach from the other things you might be doing,” the man said to KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson on Wednesday.

As of publishing, no other councilmembers have commented on the incident. You can read the full statement from Councilmember Gonzalez below.

Listening and learning from our constituents during public comment is an important part of my responsibility as an elected official. I apologize to the people of Seattle who believe we missed the mark on March 11. As a councilmember who represents the entire city, I regularly meet with Seattle residents on issues that matter to them. One of the best aspects of public service is my personal contacts with neighbors at community meetings, on the bus, at the grocery store and with those who come to City Hall to provide meaningful public comment. Receiving public comment, verbal or written, or having sidewalk conversations with constituents is a fundamental part of the democratic process.

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