(InEDC) Cris Alacon, PLACERVILLE CA – The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors endured a series of hateful and anti-Semitic phone calls on Tuesday afternoon. These calls were in response to the board’s recent decision to remove the designation of July as American Christian Heritage Month. During the 30-minute public forum section of the meeting, eight male callers unleashed a flood of offensive comments. Throughout the entire half-hour, attendees had to bear with statements such as “The Holocaust was a hoax,” “Heil Hitler,” and derogatory terms referring to Jewish people as “parasites” and “leeches.”
After the third call, which concluded with a man uttering, “f— those filthy k—-, white power,” board chair Wendy Thomas, who represents the Placerville area, sought guidance from County Counsel David Livingston regarding the board’s regulations on hate speech and profanities. Thomas expressed her disapproval, stating, “That’s simply unacceptable.” Unfortunately, the attorney informed them that the board had no means to address such behavior. Livingston’s response was disheartening, “Regrettably, I don’t believe we have any rules of conduct that would address it. Although these statements may be offensive, they do not disrupt the board’s proceedings.”
With no action taken, the next caller had the freedom to make deeply offensive comments, including, “Go f— yourself and go back to Israel,” racial slurs, “white f—— power,” and “sieg heil.” Advocates and frequent attendees of board meetings like Leo Bennett-Cauchon expressed their dissatisfaction with the board’s response. Bennett-Cauchon criticized their handling of the situation, stating, “The board’s response was utterly inadequate. It was absolutely and completely inadequate.”
Even those callers who wished to address issues relating to the county were deeply disturbed by the hateful remarks. Ken Greenwood, a resident of the county who called in to discuss cell towers, stated, “I’m ready to throw up. What these individuals are saying and doing is outrageous. My father experienced Dachau, the Holocaust undeniably occurred.”
“These comments have completely shocked me,” Greenwood added. “It has greatly disrupted my train of thought. Additionally, I’m saddened that we all had to be subjected to this.”
After the public forum concluded, the board ultimately decided against making any changes to its code of conduct. Board member Lori Parlin, representing Shingle Springs and Coloma, and the sole member who voted against designating July as American Christian Heritage Month, expressed her hesitation. “I’m not sure if I want to go down that path,” Parlin said.
“We typically manage to overcome these situations, so why should we make ourselves more vulnerable?” John Hidahl, the original proponent of the designation of American Christian Heritage Month, also expressed caution about making any alterations. “The First Amendment rights are a fundamental and essential entitlement of all individuals to express themselves,” he stated. “That’s what fosters effective governance: acknowledging and considering diverse opinions. I simply wish that some of the language could be refined. I mean, the message is acceptable, but the derogatory language is difficult to tolerate.”
In July, the Board voted 4-1 in favor of approving the designation of American Christian Heritage Month. However, earlier this month, they unanimously rescinded the measure following protests from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and concerned residents who believed it failed to represent the county’s diversity and blurred the separation between church and state. One of the proclamation’s most prominent critics, Rabbi Evon Yakar from South Lake Tahoe, was targeted by the callers’ disparaging remarks.
The Board’s response sharply contrasted with the recent actions of the Sacramento City Council when faced with a similar issue. When they received such offensive calls last month, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who is of Jewish descent, adopted a zero-tolerance approach. “If any of you intend to call and spread hate, the city clerk, acting under my orders and those of the council, will immediately terminate the call. End of story,” he proclaimed on August 29th. “We won’t allow it in our chamber!”
In a recent city blog post, Sacramento City Clerk Mindy Cuppy stated that the city council will return to conducting in-person meetings, partly due to the antisemitic and racist phone calls.
Similarly, following an incident on Tuesday where their meeting was also targeted, San Francisco County supervisors have declared their intention to terminate remote public comment. “This is a coordinated assault happening all across the country, it’s unacceptable, it’s threatening, it undermines my sense of safety in performing my duties, and it’s an abuse of the privilege extended to everyone,” expressed supervisor Hillary Ronen, who is Jewish, in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle. “I demand that it comes to an end.” San Francisco board President Aaron Peskin echoed this sentiment and announced his intention to propose a motion to cease remote public comment in future meetings.
