Council panel reviews policies on circulars in public buildings

BANGOR – Should city buildings serve as forums of free speech? If so, to what extent? Should small, independent publications be treated any differently than so-called “mainstream” publications like the Bangor Daily News?

These are just some of the complex issues that members of the City Council’s government operations committee, chaired by Councilor Richard Greene, grappled with Tuesday night during a meeting at City Hall.

The nearly two-hour discussion was prompted by a resident who last month lodged a complaint about what he characterized as a First Amendment violation, or one pertaining to the freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

At issue is a newspaper called the Common Sense Independent, published, written and edited by award-winning Maine journalist Terrilyn Simpson.

The publication is critical of the state Department of Health and Human Services, in particular its handling of the children who have been taken into its custody and treatment of the children’s family members.

Last month, resident Jim LaBrecque dropped a stack of the newspapers off at the city’s dental clinic, with the permission of Dr. John Frachella.

When LaBrecque returned to the clinic five days later, he learned that the newspapers had been pulled from the waiting area after the parent of a patient had questioned the appropriateness of making the publication available to the public in a city facility.

The next day, LaBrecque returned to the clinic and met with Shawn Yardley, the city’s health and welfare director, who told LaBrecque he was not going to allow the newspaper to be distributed in the city facility.

Yardley allegedly said the newspaper was “editorial” in nature and he did not have to allow anything other than educational material.

Yardley, a licensed social worker, was unable to attend Monday’s meeting because he is on vacation, according to City Manager Edward Barrett.

Barrett said he upheld Yardley’s position. He said, however, that the city lacks a citywide policy on the kinds of materials that can be made available to the public in city buildings.

He said that in this case, he applied a 1997 policy that requires public meetings and material at City Hall be “educational in nature and shall avoid advocacy of a particular position in the areas of public policy dispute or controversy.”

Assistant City Solicitor John Hamer said excluding publications because they are controversial is a “valid basis” for not allowing them to be disseminated in city facilities.

The government operations panel upheld Barrett’s decision, but directed him to draft policies for all city facilities to review in a month.

Simpson, who attended the meeting, said she took exception to any attempt to restrict the dissemination of newspapers, calling the measure “a very, very dangerous road.”

“So noted,” Greene said.