Chris Pugh

Pudding Creek - Fort Bragg, Calif.

Let the people speak.

Democracy isn’t supposed to be fast or easy. It’s messy, loud, and sometimes painfully slow—but that’s kind of the point. The whole idea is that everyone gets a say, even if it takes a little longer than some would like.

That’s why it was a little odd to see Mendocino County’s Board of Supervisors debating whether they should put a limit on how long the public can discuss a single issue. Supervisor John Haschak, who took over as Board Chair in January, suggested enforcing an old rule that caps public comment at ten minutes per topic, no matter how many people wanted to speak. The logic? Something about “efficiency.” But his colleagues weren’t buying it. They figured if people went through the effort of showing up, they should at least get their full three minutes, even if that meant hearing from more than a handful of speakers.

And honestly, they’re right. If democracy is about anything, it’s about people being able to voice their concerns, even if it means meetings run a little long. What’s funny, though, is that while the board was debating whether public comment was too time-consuming, they had no problem spending almost an hour talking in circles about Haschak’s idea. And later in the meeting, when a member of the public tried to finish reading a statement within their allotted three minutes, Haschak didn’t hesitate to cut them off mid-sentence. Apparently, efficiency only applies to the public, not the board itself.

It’s a curious phenomenon—every year, a new Board Chair steps into the role and, almost like clockwork, attempts some oddly specific power move to “fix” a process that isn’t really broken. Whether it’s limiting public input, reworking meeting structures, or cracking down on procedural minutiae, it always seems to be less about actual efficiency and more about exerting authority. Maybe it’s the fresh title that inspires them to overstep, or maybe it’s just a misguided attempt to leave a mark. Either way, these unnecessary flexes usually end up as little more than an amusing footnote in the ongoing saga of local governance.

The bottom line? Public comment isn’t a favor—it’s a right, and at the end of the day, democracy isn’t about keeping things tidy and efficient. It’s about making sure people are heard. Sure, some people ramble, some go off-topic, and some might say things that the board would rather not hear. But that’s just part of the deal. If elected officials can’t handle a few extra minutes of public input, maybe they’re in the wrong line of work.

Originally published in the Fort Bragg Advocate-News on February 20, 2025.