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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-08-04 TranscriptionPage 1 Council Present: Alter, Bergus, Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Weiner Staff Present: Fruin, Goers, Fruehling, Teague: To everyone attending, this morning I greet you in the name of peace and unity. I'm going to call them- this meeting to order for the City of Iowa City special, uh, meeting on August 4th, 2022. Roll -call, please. [Roll Call] 2. Removal of Commission member Teague: The second item on our agenda is the removal of commission member. Can I get a motion to remove ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission member Amel Ali from this commission? Bergus: Mayor, don't we normally hear public comment prior to the motion? Teague: No. We will get to public comments. Taylor: Discuss motion first. Teague: Yeah. We do the motion first, then yeah. Bergus: I'd like the council to consider a motion to table this and have the opportunity to discuss. Weiner: Second. Teague: All in, uh I guess we'll... Goers: I'm sorry, I missed it. There is a couple- couple points of clarification. I believe it's the Mayor's intent to have a motion, a second, public discussion, public comment, council discussion, if I understand? Teague: Correct. Goers: And then moving forward. But councilor, Bergus did you- I'm sorry, did you make a motion to table. Is that what you said? Bergus: Yes. Goers: Okay. I'm sorry. There was a second? Weiner: Yes. Goers: That requires a majority vote. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 2 Teague: Okay. We will do roll -call for that - Goers: Okay. Teague: - motion and a second. Goers: Sure. [Roll call] Teague: Okay. Motion fails four to three. Teague: All right. We are on our original motion to remove Amel Ali from the Truth and Reconciliation common- Commission. Can I get a motion, please. Teague: So this is a motion to remove Amel Ali from the ad hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Can I get a motion, please. Taylor: So moved. Alter: Second. Teague: Moved by Taylor. Seconded by Alter. All Right. So I'm aware that there's a lot of questions around this sensitive agenda item. And I want to give a background on how we ended up here today for a special council meeting and the circumstances leading to this being a topic before this council. I'll start with circumstances. Amel Ali was talking on a podcast that has been heard by some community members and Council. In the words of Amel Ali when she addressed Council on Tuesday, she stated, and I quote, "My words and comments contained in the released recordings were wrong. They were ill- considered, and most of all they were hurtful," end quote. Prior to Amel comments, I asked this council if there was an interest in me put an agenda item for the removal of Amel Ali on our next regular council meeting, which will be on August 16th. This council signaled significant interest. I spoke with Amel Ali in a face-to-face meeting earlier during the day on Tuesday, and I do not recall her talk- taken a position on if she will resign or remain on the TRC? Amil- Amel clearly took a position to reign- to remain as a commissioner during her remarks Tuesday and I quote despite- and I quote Amel Ali, "despite the call by the mayor and others to have me resigned, I can't walk away and turn my back on the trust hope and responsibilities entrusted to all of us on this commission," end quote, These were the words that persuaded me to call this special meeting. I consider this now a matter for the council to deal with. And two weeks was too long to have this discussion. I've quoted some excerpts from a Amel comments on Tuesday. But I will have this public comment played in its entirety so that everyone in this audience can hear it right now. [Recording of Amel Ali Public Comment] This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 3 Teague: We have some people also online, so I'm going to switch to a few people here. We're going to walk them. Amel. Welcome. Ali: Can you hear me? Teague: Yes. Ali: Thank you for giving me this chance to speak candidly. My words and comments contained in the release recording were wrong. They were ill-considered and most of all they were hurtful. And for all of that, I'm deeply sorry. Trauma begets trauma in many ways. I made those hurt harmful comments at a time when I was experiencing trauma personally, while under the challenges of navigating my role in the context of this commission. The recording with my comments was released in my view, or at least in part to disrupt our important work to address the continuous harm BIPOC communities experience, particularly following the murder of George Floyd and many others thereafter. Telling the truth about harmful experiences, healing from harm, making repairs and reconciliation are the pillars of our work. Despite the call by the mayor and others to have me resigned, I can't walk away and turn my back on the trust, hope and run - responsibilities entrusted to all of us on this commission. Resignation to the way things are has been the default of too many communities for too long. Let's put our words over these last few years to the test and followed through on forgiveness, belonging, and truth. You may not always like what you hear. But like me, we will be bringing our community to the table to share their experience. It might not feel good day here, but it's not to shame you or anyone. It's to tell the truth about my experience that isn't privileged or value. We took our lead from those in South Africa where a woman spoke about their trauma. And the entire world stopped to listen here in the United States and made an deniable impact on all of us. Reverend Nelson Johnson, the cofounder of the Greensboro Truth Commission, sat down face to face with the grand wizard of the KKK because he believed they had to face hard truths. Can we not do this here? I submit the only way forward is the restorative justice process, one which I'm trying- currently trying to use to address harm someone else caused me. I've learned a great deal about myself through this harm, I caused and will continue to learn and heal with this community and the mental health professionals that are supporting me. I truly believe in the notion that forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the feature. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. [Recording ended] Teague: Before we move to public comment and then council discussion, I'm aware many still haven't heard any other podcast. I will have played a podcast for you now. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 4 [Played Soundclip of Podcast featuring Amel Ali] Ali: Because this will make sense. So all of that shit happened. If you guys know, Raneem, who was a very prominent person in IFR, was also a part of the Commission. That was the one person in IFR that was in the commission. The one IFR representative, they let be on it. Which Royceann and the rest of like the black elders and Iowa City have such an insane hatred [LAUGHTER] for IFR. They hate them so much like there's a group called the Black Voices Project, it's 75% white people. [LAUGHTER] I'm not kidding. Like more than 75% white people. And like in 2020, like all of their meetings were about like they use IFR, like they just are so like offended by like everything that IFR did and how they went about it and the disrespect to the elders like and all of this shit. And they bring, they say, and like they're obviously old farts. And like they use like the 60s and Iowa City like as like their excuse, well, it's not as bad as it was when we're here. Like there's a person named Speedy. I always fucking forget Townsend. He used to play for the Hawks. Harwood: Yeah. Orville Speedy Townsend? Yeah. Ali: Orville. Yes. I was going to say the popcorn name guy, but I could not remember. [LAUGHTER] And like, bless his heart. But ifI have to fucking hear the story about how he went to like Mississippi or [LAUGHTER] the week before fucking Emmett Till was killed one more time. Like, it's just like, what do you want me to do? Like, I don't get it. He was the same age. Like but he- what- what does that have to do with anything like I don't understand why isn't he advocating for the fucking woman who lied about Emmett Till to be fucking charged then. Like that has nothing to do with like the issues that the youth are facing now. That's like the disrespectful thing to me. Is like you think that we're being disrespectful in the way that we are engaging in our activism. But you are all telling us that you had it worse. So we need to shut the fuck up and learn how to like do things your way. And I- and I just like don't- I don t think that's fucking fair and like they all suck [Recording ended] Teague: We're going to move to public comment at this time for a max of 30 minutes. I wanted to get a show of hands of how many, er, interested parties would be interested in this space to speak. If you can keep your hands raised because we have 30 minutes, I need to do a count. So 2, 5, 6, 7. Taylor: Ten people, 10. Teague: Ten out here. Thank you. I'm sorry. So 10 in the audience and there is at the time of the g- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 online. So for 30 minutes, um, is going to be the max. [NOISE] We're going to allow, um, I'm going to ask people to really keep their comments within a minute, respectfully. Welcome. Please state your name and your city. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 5 Townsend: Good morning. I'm Orville Townsend, 713 Whiting Avenue and I'm the old fork that she was talking about. I'm amazed. I don't know this woman. I've had no contact with her. If I had done something to offend her, I couldn't understand why she would single me out to attack me. A lot of people are unhappy with me because I've been unhappy with a lot of things in Iowa City, but I chose to get on committees and get involved and work with people and help people to get information that they need to make better informed choices about the issues. That's the way I chose to deal with it. I could have chose to deal with it like this individual. What would happen if everybody chose to deal with it like this individual and stood up the way I chose to deal with it. [NOISE] I mean, this is I- I can't believe that it's happening, but it did. So I'm requesting that she not only she be removed from the commission, but that she be not allowed to participate in any commission or city activity [NOISE] because of such negative behavior. [NOISE] Teague: Thank you. We're going to move online and we're going to go to Kris. And please, if you are in the audience, uh, if you can start joining up, making a line. Welcome Kris. Please state your name and your city. Teague: We're going to move, uh, in-house. Welcome. Lyon: Can you hear me? Teague: Please state your name and your city. Oh Kris. Porter: Yeah, sorry. Okay. Teague: Kris, can you hear us? Lyon: I can. Sony, my- my mic was muted. Teague: Welcome. Lyon: Thank you. Kris Lyon, Iowa City. Uh, I just wanted to say I don't think it's a good look for the council to rush to remove Amel for the conflict between Porter and her supporters and the younger members of the TRC has been ongoing since 2020, especially when the first real plan and direction for the TRC emerged concurrently with Amel's increased involvement and as vice chair and chair. Intentional or not, this will be the interpretation of her removal that the real goal is to limit the GRC. Counselor Harmsen told the press citizen that if Amel's comments were ac- really reflected, she couldn't even be involved in reconciliation process at all. First, I think Harmsen should abstain from this vote because of his personal campaign ties to Porter. Second, reconciliation has a specific meaning in the context of the TRC. The reconciliation process is between white privileged state power to law enforcement and the black community not between members of the TRC or between Amel and Porter. It's not the position of any member on the Council, especially white council members to police the words of black community organizers. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 6 Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Please state your name and your city. Porter: Royceann Porter, Iowa city. Um, there- there keeps going back this thing with Amel and Royceann Porter and TRC. I left TRC, I haven't had no involvement with TRC. The only thing I've come before you as part of Black Voices is when TRC wanted to get paid for their commissioning work we came before you. Other than that, I moved on and I, uh, I'm the chair of Johnson County. I no longer have nothing to do with the TRC. So for people to continue to say IFR, TRC, and Royceann Porter, you all need to let it go. I have no problem until I received this message from Amel. It shamed me when I- to hear her say whoever Natalie is on this podcast and you all want to state that this podcast is private. Uh, no, it's not private. And it was sent to me and I listened. And as I listened, I heard this young lady say, have you se- I don't do body shaming, but have you seen Royceann Porter. Oh, my God [NOISE] and added my daughter. Teague: Thank you. Thank you. Porter: Come on now. Teague: Thank you. [NOISE] We're going to move to, uh, Ninoska. I'm sorry if I pronounce your name wrong. Welcome. Campos (via translator): Hi, my name is Ninoska Campos. Um, I live in Modern Manor and these are the trailer parks on Scott Boulevard. I wanted to direct assistance. My son lost. I don't understand what the purpose of this meeting is today. Teague: This is- excuse me- this is, uh, this meeting is not on that topic. We're going to move to the next person. Welcome. Translator: She's getting to that point. Teague: Oh, what- what is the- is. Translator: If you would let her finish we- she would get to that point. Teague: Okay. She may continue. Sorry. Yeah. Campos (via translator): The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has always supported excluded workers via the county and city holding a special meeting today. There are more important issues going on, 319 residents and excluded workers who need a stimulus check right now. When will be excluded workers get their special meeting with the city and county. This city moves on behalf of the workers that are here working every day. Teague: This topic needs to remain on this agenda item, and it is not. Thank you for your time and- and your comments. I'm going to welcome you at this time. Welcome. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 7 Harris: Yeah my name is Eric Harris, Iowa City. So what I will say is in no way or no shape and form I'm I going to say I condone with what's heard and said on that. It just- is just a bad thing that it comes at a time that is very important for the TRC. So I feel the quick removal of Amel would disrupt the TRC even more. I also feel that holding Amel accountable, other people should be held accountable for their actions as well. I will say that I don't always get along with people that's in his room, but I do feel that the- the comments were inappropriate, you know, I've had my run-ins with people. I just want to say that this is not a good time. This is not a good time so rush this through. We've got lots of issues that stay on the agenda for months and months. This is not a good time to rush this through. And this is going to- this is going to be more destructive to the TRC. And I just think this is the time [NOISE] that we should find peace in Iowa city. Teague: Thank you. Thank you. I'm going welcome Natalie onli- online. Harwood: Hi. Um, my name is Natalie and I was one of the people on the podcast. The comments in which- uh, the ways that Amel's comments have been characterized are completely inaccurate. Um, Royceann herself has been in comment- had been in hot water for making inflammatory comments and you're also getting votes to remove someone from the farmers' market stall when they had made anti-Semitic comments. This is someone who was traumatized, this a fighter for the community, and she's angry. And she's rightfully angry because she is a strong woman, she's incredible, and she just does such hard work. This was an act of interpersonal misogynistic violence. I'm not sure why no one is acknowledging that Amel is a victim of racist- violence here. The onus of select intellectual property, it was stolen and it was bailed by one vicious white man in his attempt to destabilize the TRC as for Amel. One person did this specifically to hurt her. You don't own this recording, we own it. You should play it in a public arena, which, you know, is not something that really bothers us so much. It's like this was stolen and done to hurt Amel and she is a fighter for the community and no one is acknowledging. Teague: Thank you- thank you. I'm gonna welcome you at this time. When we go back online, Taylor will be next. Welcome in-person. Pieper: Hi, um, Felicia Pieper, Iowa City. Um, I've written like a million different versions of this comment but I'll just start and say, I'm confused at why this clip is inappropriate. I don't understand why someone who has less power is barred from, um, speaking against people who have power, especially when those people in power personally go after her. Um, the fact that Amel has been vulnerable and has apologized, and the fact that she is open and willing to do a restorative justice process, should be honored. I don't understand why a Truth and Reconciliation Committee would not even consider that. I don't understand the point on the commission if that is how we treat people. Um, I- she- she's a fighter, she's great, she's amazing, I'm really proud and honored to know her, and she's and will continue to do great work in this community whether you do this or not. Um, this is a pattern. I, um, have no, um, faith in the City of Iowa City to look out for black This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 8 and marginalized, um, people anymore. Since 2020, it's keeps going. I have no faith, I'm not surprised, but I'm heartbroken yet again. Thank you Amel, you're amazing. Teague: Thank you. Welcome Taylor online. Kohn: Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Welcome. Kohn: Hi. Uh, yeah. I'm- I'm also calling in, um, to support Amel Ali. I am concerned about this motion to remove the chair of the TRC. Um, for over a year now, there's been significant effort to slow and stop this commission and this is an alarming part of that pattern as others have said. Um, to remove the chair would not be in any way supporting the mission of the TRC. It would make it harder for them to do their work. Um, I agree 100 percent with Felicia. I- even hearing that clip, I don't understand why that [NOISE] said in a private podcast is- is even a problem. That- it sounds like personal matters that can and should be worked out, um, aside from this. It's completely overstepping for the city to intervene in this way. Um, so the- the solution here is not to remove Ali, the solution here is for, uh, reconciliation to happen. It- it's not- it's not your place to- to discipline, um, someone for making comments about this so don't remove Ali. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Uh, when we go back online, it'll be Muna but I'm gonna welcome you here. McGovern: Hello, I'm Tara McGovern. By calling this - Teague: And your city, please? McGovern: I live in Coralville. Teague: Thank you. McGovern: By calling this meeting, you are complicit in a targeted attack against a person who has been donating years of her life to bettering our community. Can you say the same about yourselves? I stopped attending these meetings months ago because you value parliamentary procedure over both accessibility and compassion. And now in a conversation that took place behind a paywall that was heard in full only by those of us who subscribe to the work of our comrades and friends, Amel continues to be tone - policed and taken out of context. Amel's calling is truth and reconciliation. When she tells the truth, you silence her, when she offers reconciliation, you ignore her. You will vote to remove Amel Ali as chair only if you are so small-minded that you would allow the manipulations of a racist misogynist with a personal vendetta against her rather than look at the body of work that Amel has given you. Shelter House is overflowing, the excluded workers continue to suffer, Amel continues to work and I would like you to get back to work also. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 9 Teague: Thank you. I'm gonna welcome Muna online. Please state your name [OVERLAPPING] and city. Hamad: All right. My name is- can you hear me? Teague: Yes. Please state your name and city. Welcome. Hamad: This is- this is Raneem Hamad and I- honestly, it's disheartening to see that the same toxic cycles and the same tactics of threats, fear, and intimidation continue to be used by so-called community leaders such as you the mayor, the county supervisor, and the BDP to silence voices they do not agree with. It seems that many of our leaders simply enjoy being the only voice of representation in the room. Every council member had a responsibility to protect Amel in this instance, and it's disgusting to see the same respectability politics continue to play out. It's clear and it was clear from the previous vote that counselors like Shawn and Megan are n- are not interested in standing up for our community members, but instead kiss the hand that fed them. Amel has done so much work for our community and will continue to do so. She is, and will be a strong voice of representation for this community regardless of your vote this morning. And I also just wanna note that I honestly, I'm just disgusted by this council and I'm just- I've lost all faith, like everyone has said, in anything ever changing in this community because of people like- who are in power. Teague: Thank you. When we come back online, we'll, uh, welcome Indira, but welcome at this time in-person. Porter: Hi, my name is Stacy Porter. I'm the daughter of Royceann Porter. Um, I'm- I'm not really involved too much in what my mom does as far as her work but once things get to me, it- it just, it doesn't make sense. I understand that, you know, there are new leaders who come in and, you know, can bring new voices and opinions, but my mom has put in years of work, emphasis on years of work, and the private conversations that she has, if she chooses to have them, don't reach the committee. She had a- Amel had a public conversation on a podcast that wasn't hidden whether we subscribe to it, it wasn't a secret conversation, and the things that she expressed was very inappropriate. Um, she- you say you're not into body shaming and then you bring my business into it and you just completely disregarded and disrespected a person who has put in double the amount of work that you can even think of as of now. And it's just, in my opinion, if you wanna be a leader, then you have to act as such. And not only the comments that she made about my mom, myself, my business, but just o- overall herself too, it's just not something that anyone should want a leader to represent themself. It's not a way that you would want to represent yourself. Teague: Thank you- thank you. Welcome indi- Indira. Sony if I pronounced that incorrectly. Sheumaker: Hello. My name is Indira Sheumaker. I am on the Des Moines city council and I am here because I want you to know that what happens in Iowa City is important to us in Des This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 10 Moines as well. You have taken steps that we have not taken. I, um, hope that all of you read my email. I am grateful for the responses that I did get. I am here because I want to illustrate, just from the comments that we've heard so far, that this act of removing Amel from the commission would cause division in the same way that her comments did. I also would like to emphasize Amel's request for a restorative justice process. The hurt that she caused can be repaired and she should do the work to do so. Um, if you have your minds made up already to remove Amel, I would have you consider leaving her on the commission and appointing a new chair. If your minds are not made up, I would- I would encourage you to keep her, but vote no on this motion and make a new one, um, if you would like to remove her and have her remain on the commission. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. We're gonna move in-house, welcome, and when we return back online, uh, Micah, you will be the next online. But welcome in-house. Weilein: Hello. My name is Oliver, I live here in Iowa City, a long-term resident. I just think it's really- really funny how we're putting personal beef and petty quarrels at the front- the forefront when we're talking about things like this, when we're talking about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and someone like Amel who's put in so much work and so much effort in this community and does it every single day very thanklessly. Um, but at the same time, the city goes to bat for police officers who beat up handcuffed women and who, uh, racially profile Black people like Chris Kelly. You go to bat for them, you will defend them to your dying breath, but you're going to rush through this process for someone's personal beef. This is insane. It's deplorable. Teague: Thank you. Welcome, uh, Mica online. Doolan: I'm Mica Doolan and I'm speaking for Mandy Nichols. I live in Cedar Rapids, but I'm active in Iowa City. Mandy says, I'm unable to be at this meeting this morning, so a friend is reading this for me. Well, I understand that city council appoints commission members, it is not the place that the majority- of this majority non -black council to intervene, and what is clearly an ongoing dispute between two black women, especially one that involves issues of race. Those of us who are white cannot fully understand. Amel has directly in publicly knowledge that her comments were ill-considered and hurtful, showing that she has taken responsibility for harm caused as any public officer should, specific sustained the concept of removing any commission member for something they said on their own time is a perfect example of the ways in which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is held to a different standard than other local government boards and commissions. I, myself as a chair of the Community Police Review Board, recently appeared on podcasts in which I was critical of the Council- of the city council. Will you be having a very good news [OVERLAPPING]. Teague: Thank you. We're going to move in house. Thank you. Please state your name and city. Gudenkauf: My name is Anna Gudenkauf and I live in Iowa City. I want to stay my unequivocal support for Amel Ali in her role as Chair of the TRC. I'm incredibly disappointed by This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 11 council's decision to create this meeting. This meeting is just a continuation of the targeted harassment against Ali and the TRC at large. I also want to make clear that by removing Ali, he would be playing to a targeted racist attack against Ali by a disgruntled community member that has no interest in racial justice. I support Ali's call for restorative justice process to address their comments which fall in line with the TRC's values of reckoning and restoring of relationships, as well as the council's value of social justice. I also believe that she should remain as chair of the TRC. Please listen to the words of your constituents rather than rely on your own biases. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. We're going to move online to Michael, and, um, when we come back online, it'd be Daphney. Welcome, Michael. Bortscheller: Hi, I'm Michael, living in Iowa City. And on Tuesday I heard Supervisor Porter come to the council and say that if the council doesn't remove Commissioner Ali then Supervisor Porter would. It struck me as odd since the Johnson County Board of Supervisors has no oversight over the Truth and Reconciliation Commission unless she's threatening to withhold funding to the city in retribution over a personal disagreement. And I really couldn't understand why her boards would be phrased that way. Well, understanding came just a few minutes later in the lobby when I heard Supervisor Porter shouting profanity, is that members of the TRC, FDR commission, and FDR Commissioner. That's when I understood these weren't motivated by a desire to do well by the community, but rather by feelings of hurt and anger over the fact that Supervisor Porter was once a member of the commission and then resigned due to accusations of inappropriate behavior. I'm worried the city council will compound one mistake with another. Both super- Johnson County would be poor if Supervisor Porter were forced to resign over her profane public outburst, just as the TRC would be poor if Commissioner Ali were forced to resign. I really hope this is an opportunity to model reconciliation like we hope we can. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Corner: Hey, my name is Justin Corner. I'm a Coralville resident. Ah, I'm the producer of Rock Hard Caucus, which means I'm personally responsible for all of the content that is published under that podcast. Ah, I just want to say that we were aware that we were taking a risk by releasing this recording, ah, paywalled or not. But I always presented with a decision when I was given this recorded conversation to either allow a hardworking young black woman to speak her mind and say what she feels needs to be said, or to hide it and suppress, ah, her truth. And I just want to say that you all are now presented with a similar decision and I hope that you, ah, consider the role of the TRC, whether they are to serve the interests of the powerful or to, you know, be critical of you and to hold you and the rest of the local government accountable. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. I want to just state that we have nine minutes left. I'm going to welcome Daphney. Welcome. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 12 Daniel: Good morning, everyone. I'm a commissioner on the TRC. I live in Iowa City. The TRC has not had a chance to even discuss this at a meeting because city council seems to be so, um, so dedicated to rushing this through before. Um, we've had a chance to discuss this. So for everyone who said that, like why haven't we discussed reconciliation? That's what we want to do. We want to show the power of transformative justice. As far as, um, amounts, comments, people need to understand this is corning after years of bullying at the hands of Supervisor Porter. And that bullying was made public. It was put on public exhibition on Tuesday when Royceann Porter, her daughter and some of her friends verbally attacked me. They called me- they called me words that I would not say publicly. They threatened physical violence. The only reason I was able to leave was after calling the police. This is the kind of bullying behavior that I found out is- has been going on for years and people who have been bullied by Royceann Porter need to come forward, and city council really needs to think about what message they're putting out there. What message are you putting out to the children in this community? The young black ones. The young white ones, everyone. Teague: Thank you- thank you. Yes, welcome. Felker: Hi. Um, my name is Siri Felker, Iowa City. Um, as a teacher, I ask you to take a moment to think about the grading systems that many of us grew up with that refused to award credit to students who express their understanding using their cultural or generational vernacular, expressing their true authentic self. I can't help but think of this when I- when considering the decision that you are facing today. It's my understanding that this is actually the work of the TRC to bravely tackle the frustrations between many diverse, um, groups here in Iowa City. And inevitably those conversations will not always be without conflict. But this is the work that Amel has shown immense potential and tackling to take this dispute as a reason to remove her from a role will directly disrupt the progress of the TRC was appointed to make. It would be a punishment for expression. Expression that reflects the need for the TRC's work. Now I also just completed a degree in legal studies concentrating and Cross -Cultural Dispute Resolution. The most valuable lesson I learned is that, um, approaching disputes and the resolutions in a binary manner like this, yes or no vote is never the best answer. Time is costly. The TRC's work is important now and there has to be a third option besides removing someone who has demonstrated so much potential [OVERLAPPING] to move this work of restorative justice. Teague: We are going to move on online to Steve. Welcome. Roach: Hi, I'm Steve Roach and I live in Iowa City. Um, I would just ask that the city council stop messing with the TRC. I mean, this conflict that you're meeting over is a longstanding and well-recognized conflict between younger members and older members of the black community, and this has been ongoing for a long time. And as- as we can hear from tests- testimony during this meeting, this conflict is not only on the point of Amel Ali making comments, it's also other people. The other party is also, um, really been recognized has making inappropriate comments. So I- I really think this is outside This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 13 of the purview of the City Council, and it seems kind of crazy that you're having a meeting about this on, ah, Thursday morning to try to remove somebody for these comments that were made, not as part of the TRC. So again, I support keeping Amel on the- on the TRC as a chair. And I think there are other approaches to address the conflict between these two people besides removing her. Teague: Thank you. We have less than five minutes. Welcome in house. Taylor: Hi, um, my name is Angel. I was there Tuesday. I just wanted to clear this up. Um, two members of the TRC, Clifton and Mohammad, had approached Royceann wanting to mend fences basically. And I did ask, um, they wanted to meet, and Royceann had said when, and he just said whenever. Um, I did ask who was going to be present, I don t think, you know, if- I don't think this would be the time for Amel and Royceann to get together, he says no. And then he explains to Royceann and not everyone in the TRC shared Amel's views. And the moment he said that Daphney Daniel, who is the Attorney at Iowa Legal Aid was hostile, aggressive, she hopped in front of us. She created everything, um, as far as the yelling and she's got really- really- really aggressive. And if you guys go back and view these tapes, you will see everything. So as far as Royceann, she reacted to that, Amel's name was not brought up in any sort of disrespect or disparaging way at all. Um, it was between these two members wanting to just mend fences, so I just wanted to clear that out. So if you run back those tapes you will see. Teague: Thank you. We're going to move online to Noah and we have less than three minutes left. Petersen: Hello? Hello. Can you hear me? Teague: Yes, welcome. Petersen: Hello. Yes, uh, I'm here to support Amel today. Um, you know, obviously, you'll also not remove her from the community for her speech. I'm just gonna point out the fact the city can hold this special emergency meeting over really some minor comments that she made on the podcast yet, you can't do anything to house the people currently forced live on the street because shelter house is closed and there's no fucking emergency meetings to get those people housed. Um, there are hundreds of people missing out on their, uh, simulants checks and there's no emergency meeting to get those people the money they need to feed their kids or to, you know, keep their lights on they're not to be evicted and there's no fucking emergency meeting for those people but for hers and we need to punish Amel for her speech or apologize for so, um, do better. Teague: I'm gonna respectfully ask that you just wait one minute, I'll allow you more time. Um, but if anyone else in house, we have less than two minutes. Traore: Mohamed Traore of the TRC, um, I'm corning here today, not really knowing what to say, and the big reason for that, why is that most of the members of the commission still This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 14 have not heard any more than maybe a two -minute clip of any of these tapes. We haven't had a chance to accurately discuss anything that's a part of this, and we're sitting here today going over vote that removes a member that's been with the commission since the very beginning. I've known Amel since I was five years old. I know her well enough to know that she has learned her lesson, and not only that, but that she is a valuable member of the community, and that we should look for reconciliation and a way to actually restore ties here. If the only thing is removal, then that leaves the TRC then to figure out a way to restore ties. As we're going to have to work with people across the community, whether it's Amel Black Voices Project, whoever it is. So again, your decision leaves that work to the TRC rather than mending things and making them better and more amicable for everyone involved. Teague: Thank you. We are right at the last comment which we're going to have from Amel Ali. Bergus: Mayor, I would ask that we extend public comment given that we call an emergency meeting and people who were able to come today should be allowed to speak. Teague: Um, we're gonna have one more speaker that is before us and then we're gonna go to Amel Ali. Welcome. Johnson: Good morning. My name is Cliff Johnson of Iowa City. I'm also on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I personally, uh, was disturbed just the other day by the show of unprofessionalism yet again, uh, right there in the hallway, uh, between- my goal was to try to conversate and try to create some type of pathway for all of us to kind of discuss things, and there was a lot of cursing and a lot of things that just were unnecessary and every way, shape and form, and in that same breath, we cannot also say, okay, we have an issue with Amel, and now this is how we're going to handle it that's an inappropriate. Threats and anything else along those lines or shouldn't be accepted, and I don't understand how we're even running- running, anything that- that means something. If we're not willing to look at all sides and then say, we need to make better choices and decisions in general of what we are doing. Teague: Thank you. We're gonna allow Amel Ali to give final comments. Ali: Hi, guys. I'll try to make this quick and short. I am a little embarrassed to be here because this is the first emergency meeting that you guys have held sense protesters were tear - gassed. So this feels weird, um, and I feel for folks from the excreted workers' funds who have been pleading and begging for just having your ears, urn, but God forbid. Um, you know, I hurt someone's feelings and I took accountability for it, and now 35 hours later, um, here we are. City council has held the TRC to a completely different standard than any other commission, and there is not one person, um, that I believe that could tell me different on council. Um, I think that it is very clear that I've done the brunt of the work since November. Um, I've really tried to foster the relationships between the facilitators, um, and I don't want to go into this statement that I made during your Tuesday meeting, um, because I was taking accountability for what I said. I know what I said was wrong. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 15 Um, but my question is, at what point do I stop taking the people that are closest to Royceann advice? Bruce, you told me yourself send her a text. So I did hi, Royceann this is Amel. I was hoping you'd be willing to get together with me sometime this week do you have some time? If not this week, I would be more than happy to make time to chat another day. My response was not at all exclamation point. I don't have time for your bullshit. That is the highest elected official in Johnson County who said that to me. So at what point, what- what other bridges can I gap? She said homophobic things about me to you and you should. Yes, she did I- Megan told me that, yes. After the whole thing happened with UAY Pride Con I was told about some things that she said after the 14,000 letters were sent. I'm just wondering at what is it like I'm just a normal person. She's a person of power. Um, you can make that face. Megan, you told- like I was told that something very inappropriate was said, Sean, and that it had to do with my presentation at UAY Pride Con this isn't like a single incident. It has happened multiple times, um, but I'm just gonna end it with a quote from Susan Mims that she sent Mayor Bruce Teague this morning. You appear as a pawn for Royceann why they're rush to do this less than 48 hours after it came to light? Have all the counselors even heard the podcast? Why not let the TRC have first crack at this? Why immediately focus on punitive measures rather than truth and reconciliation? Your previous attempts to disband the TRC leaves the impression you are biased on this issue. Finally, just from a PR perspective, this makes council look really bad. Regards Susan Mims. Teague: Thank you. We are, uh, done with public comment. It is now time for council discussion. Townsend: I- I- I have - Teague: I'm sorry. We are done with public comment. Townsend: I just wanna go on record to saying you allowing everybody a minute - Teague: We're done with pu- pu- respectfully we're done with public, uh, comment. Thank you. Uh, it is now time for council discussion. Bergus: I had the opportunity to speak with a number of truth and reconciliation commissioners after our very productive and very positive joint meeting with them on Tuesday evening, and something that I heard once they understood that we called that Mayor, you called an emergency meeting on just this topic. Something that I heard repeatedly from members of that commission who we appointed was this is an opportunity. This is an opportunity. There has been harmed on- hurt on- in many, many places. I know that this is tremendously difficult and painful, probably for everyone in this room, and I cannot even imagine mayor what you were going through. Chair Porter, what you are going through. This is an opportunity to try and let the commission do the work that we acknowledged on Tuesday night is hard and takes time and takes energy. What's before us today is an up or down vote, yes or no to remove a motivated, strong, young, willful person from public service. Yes or no, you cannot serve. It doesn't have to be that choice. We can fmd This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 16 another way. We can turn to the commission who we all verbalize that we trust. We have seen their progress. We know what they are capable of, and say this, this is your work. This is your work. This community cannot heal, cannot move forward while this is just festering, and if we discard a commissioner who we have put our faith in, whether we feel that was upheld or not at different times. If we discard a commissioner who's been there from the beginning and has shown a willingness to do the work in the face of criticism from someone who is extremely unprofessional and extremely disrespectful to us on Tuesday night. I just do not think that is right. It is not fair, and it would be just a stain on our leadership, our governance, and our willingness to show not just our community, but the whole world who is watching this process, that we can do hard things, and I ask you all to please consider tabling this vote, not saying yes or we can have the vote and just say no. You fumble on the commission, but let them do their work. They have a meeting at 7:00 PM tonight, and on their agenda is the discussion of the leadership of the commission. They have not even been able to address this among themselves. Among themselves who we have seen and we have acknowledged that they are working together. They are collaborating. They are being helpful and respectful and truthful to each other, and it has taken time and it has been hard and it has been messy and it has been painful. But they are getting to the work and we should not shut them down. Thomas: Thank you, Council Member Bergus for your comments. I too feel. This is, uh, you know, we're- we're in a situation where it looks like we are gonna be voting on this rather than trying to fmd a middle way. I would have preferred tabling it and allowing for some space for conversations to continue on this. This- this just seem rushed at a time when deliberation is really necessary. Um, so I'm gonna be voting no. I- I do believe that- that time is essential. You know, that we've heard from many of the speakers that can we use this as a model of how we move forward. You know, there was some really hurtful comments that were made via mail. I don't think anyone disagrees with that. But, you know, as council member Bergus mentioned, we- we can use this as an opportunity rather than repeat the cycle of punishing, uh, those who have acted inappropriately. Um, the other- the other factor in my mind is the- the TRC is making progress. We are almost there, uh, and approving the contract for the facilitator, which, you know, in my view, over this long process that we've been in, has been one of the reasons. There's some it's so much struggle. This was a- this was a commission that needed a facilitator to help do the work and that person wasn't in place. And it left a space where we- we had these kinds of engagements with one another that were not productive. But I think we're almost there. So let's continue to move forward and, um, allow the TRC to have their discussion- was it tonight? Yeah, tonight. Uh, and see how we move forward. I- I do not want the council to intervene before they have an opportunity to have that conversation. Teague: I respect my fellow councilors' words. I hear you loudly. Um, what I will say is, um, Amel, you stated to Council that you are sorry. And I hear you. And receive that. But when we met face-to-face, I'll let you know that I forgave you. Use stated telling the truth by harmful experience, healing from harm, making repairs and reconciliation or the pillars of our work. You are referring to the TRC. Many people haven't heard, you know, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 17 the podcast. There are podcasts that folks in this room, your fellow TRC members where words have been said about them. You and I have had lots of conversations. Where you say a specific- I mean specific things about your TRC members to the point where I was very intentional to bring you back into like City Hall so that our conversations could be more appropriate. It rocked me some of the things that you were saying about your fellow commissioners. So there are podcasts that you have the ability to share and when it comes down to my vote to not have you on the TRC, it is really to allow optimal opportunity for forgiveness, healing, and restoration. I believe where you're positioned in this moment is critical. I heard my fellow counselors say, um, TR- they- they would want this to be at the TRC discussion. In my opening remarks, I may mention that I have fully planned to have this meeting in two weeks, but that opportunity was taken away from this council. Because you made a position statement that you are not going to leave. At that moment when you came to this council on Tuesday, that took our choice away of allowing you more time because this council had already signaled that they wanted to have the discussion and that's what we're doing today. I do not believe it is that role of the TRC to discuss should you resign? Should- should you remain on TRC? Should you remain as chair or should the council remove you? I do not believe that is the- that is the- the responsibility of the TRC. That is why we're here today. So this is not to say that there isn't opportunity for Healing. I am, um, very moved and I do believe, just like you when you say, I really believe in the notion that forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. I believe that. I believe that there is opportunities here that can happen. But where are you positioned is critical and being on the TRC at this time is not appropriate. Weiner: So I have a fairly lengthy statement. You might want to sit back and relax. We find ourselves at a moment in time in our society that is tangibly different than it was two years ago following the murder of George Floyd. His murder in the aftermath seared into our collective consciousness. The systemic racism in the society cracked open a window on the work that needs to be done. To move forward, it is necessary to confront the past, tell truths, examine them, learn from them, and draw conclusions. Now, including in this state, state legislatures are trying to make it illegal to do that necessary work. Forbidding teachers from teaching so-called divisive concepts, from confronting the truths of our history. They're trying to ban books which tell truths which are often uncomfortable. They are literally trying to whitewash history which makes our endeavors and the TRC even more important now than two years ago. As I examined this process, I see no need to rush to judgment. The mayor's discuss the timing when- when he decided. And we decided as a council just 36 hours ago to put this on the agenda for our next formal meeting. That seemed to me to provide a path forward. It would get everyone time to take a deep breath, a cooling off period, if you will. There's been nothing cool about the past 36 hours. For me, It's simply not possible to process all of this together, all the information and to come to thoughtful, well -reasoned decisions in that period. Our city and our residents deserve better from us. This is about process, and I submit that a fair process would be to table this until our next formal meeting in order to one, allow for cooling off period. Two, give the TRC itself an opportunity to consider how it wishes to deal with this, not with respect to resignation, but perhaps the commissioners would want This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 18 to issue a joint statement. Perhaps they would take leadership decision those are within their purview, but this takes away their ability and agency to do so. We saw in our last meeting as we discussed the TRC's budget proposal that they certainly have the capacity to do that. I'm confident that they can deal with this. What is it within their parameters, if we give them the space and grace to do so. Three, we would allow the community to take stock. And four, provide time for restorative justice process to start to take place. We haven't heard the full pod- podcast. And the same time, we have over the years, heard- all heard plenty of offensive language. Some of it in the form of very personal attacks. It's part and parcel of our job. We listened to people, we listen to public comment. People have a First Amendment right to political speech. We might- we not like what we hear. It can be hurtful. And at the same time it is their right to say it. People care, people get passionate. People get in temperate. This is their city hall and they have the right to tell us. It's nothing new. It's happened before and it will happen again. I'm willing to accept at face value that Commissioner Ali said things that she should not have and which were very hurtful. That she exercised poor judgment. I accept at face value that supervisor Porter was deeply offended. Is Ali the only one to ever have done this? Think about our state and national discourse right now. Is this regrettable? Yes. Is this new? No. Is this a crime? No. And I asked myself, who are we to sit in judgment? Personally, I have no interest in punishment, it does not move us forward, and that in my view, should be our guiding light, what actually moves us forward. I view this as a couple of my co- fellow counselors have said instead is an opportunity, an opportunity to model for our community what a real restorative justice process looks like. What it looks like to bring difficult issues into the open, examine them, deal with them, and be able to heal and grow and then move forward. What could that look like, and what is it about? Here's a bit, uh, about restorative justice from, uh, Dave Ragland from the Truth Telling Project. Restorative justice is often considered an alternative tra- to traditional justice. It is not. Restoration is an attempt to bring something back into view. If you describe something with the attribute of resto- restorative that speaks to some kind of healing, restoring and or re situating. We have to ask ourselves what is being restored. If we're thinking of someone who has done harm, they are being restored to a better relationship with the community that they harmed. If it's a crime where fmancial damages involved, for example, this might involve restitution. This, for instance, is preferable to ejecting someone when they've wronged you no matter how grievous. If people are important as inferred in this relational ethic, there must be a path created and decided on by the community along with that person about how they might get back. In addition to making sure more people have a voice, restorative justice is about redistributing power. We, the political leadership of Iowa City initially extended power and voice to diverse representatives of this community through establishment of the commission. The issues plaguing the TRC share similarities with many processes that have come before it and those which are running concurrently. They're not unique, but they are ours to deal with. A process to support the TRC in the community, to front -load the values of restorative justice would look something like the following. One, a community conference, meetings to discuss areas of harm. Two pre conversation, mediation with each party separately. Three, returning to community conference with feedback from pre conversations. Four, health and peacemaking circle, which includes various community members sharing their This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 19 experience, background on harm and what they think should happen. And five, follow-up to circle the Institution of what emerged in the commission. Imagine if we were to take this opportunity to model this to the greater community, Imagine how powerful it could be. We are using restorative justice in our schools circles, in our schools, if it's good enough for our kids to learn, I submit it's good enough for us. In daily life and in politics, there's generally plenty of blame to go around. The challenge, as I see it, is for us to break that cycle, be bigger than ourselves and courageous enough and open enough to- to try a new way and to open new doors. No one's saying it's easy, change never is. I think there's a third way, I'll be voting, No. I also have, um, a brief letter from- from Dave Ragland and Eduardo Gonzalez, um, to- to submit, uh, with your permission, I would read it for the record. Dear Iowa City City Council on Iowa City, the recent motion by Mayor Teague to remove Miss Amel Ali as chairperson of the truth. Teague: I'm not exactly sure if that's a public comment at this point. That's a public comment, so you can submit it as correspondence - Weiner: Okay. I will- I will- I will ask them if I'd be able to submit this this correspondence. Teague: Thank you. Weiner: Thank you very much. And so to close my remarks, I would say something I really hadn't planned on saying, which is, um, part of my faith is something called Tikkun olam, means restoring the world. Repairing the world and to do that, you do individual pieces of justice, individual pieces of goodness, they come together to improve society. And that is what I believe we need to be doing. Taylor: I'm really, um, have to be honest, I'm struggling with what to say up here, and I appreciate, uh, Counselor Weiner's extensive, uh, discussion here. I'll try to be brief. Uh, when I was initially presented with this, I- the argument was that this was private. This was a private to podcast, uh, but it- it's not private and I appreciate the director's comments about to swing over whether to present it publicly. Uh, it has become, uh, more public, it is no longer personal or confidential. Um, and I appreciate all of the public comments and I do appreciate the service that, uh, Ms. Ali has- has provided, uh, with the TRC. Uh, it's- I just want to point out, the- this is not about the TRC, it's- it's about these public comments that were made and I have a seven year old granddaughter, and you have a young granddaughter and- and Mr. Weiner, I don't think that you would want and I don't want- wouldn't want my granddaughter to hear this offensive profanity that was in this podcast. And I think that's what needs to be looked at. I mean, how appropriate is that, I appreciate the apology, but it was sad and it was made public, and, uh, we shouldn't encourage that kind of behavior. And, uh, yeah, she had mentioned a third o -option and, and that option I would be open to if- if, uh, Ms. Ali would like to remain on the TRC. I don't know if I can mention that now I might be open to her remaining on the TRC, but not in a leadership role. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 20 Alter: There's so many, um, layers and complexities to this and, um, I also had some conversations with members of the TRC, um, since this happened, um, and it has been whirlwind. Um, there have been a lot of distractions, a lot of unnecessary things that have occurred I agree completely that there are some very unprofessional behavior, some wielding of an attempt to wield positions of power that were inappropriate. That said where my concern has been from the first that I found out about this podcast and heard about it, was about what message does it send to the community to have someone in a position of leadership who's very purpose and mission is about truth, and more significantly about reconciliation. The specific people who are mentioned m this podcast, I- I know there is a long-standing back -and -forth and a lot of tension, and that's an understatement. My concern was not about personal, inter- interpersonal problems, but more what it would say to have someone who is the chair, the pu- most public figure of a commission whose entire purpose was to bring a community together and that whether words and frustration or not, to dismiss a portion of the community And I'm actually not talking about black voices, I'm talking about perhaps other individuals who are in the community who don't have that kind of support network and that level of activism within their co- within that specific group but who have experienced trauma, how comfortable would they be to come to a reconciliation process when it has been stated publicly about the elders not understanding and not respecting others. That was to me the most troubling part of this. I absolutely understand things being said in the heat of the moment, however, this was also something that was in- I thought m the rearview mirror. If the response to a refusal to meet was to go and to redo this, to rehash this as a choice troubles me. There are no good answers in this. And I do appreciate very much. There needs to be restorative justice and a restorative reconciliation of sorts. I recognize also that this- as others have said, this is an opportunity, but I find it highly ironic that the opportunity for healing has to yet once again, occur within the commission rather than being able to move forward. And that this reconciliation opportunity is one that was caused by the very person who's absolutely put m so much work to move the commission forward. I've listened to the public comments. I have read every email while I have not responded to them. I felt like many others. This has been, I won't say rushed, it has been really quick. I did not want to respond to emails in lightning speed, but I have read every single one, I've listened to comments here, I have talked to many people, and I am- I think I'll just end my comments right there for now. Harmsen: So as I've been considering, um, for the last several days, uh, what's necessary for the council of doing this matter. One of the things I've really been reflecting upon has been my conversations with Amel that stretch back to at least last fall, possibly even last summer. Um, I'm gonna be honest, I was impressed. Um, anyone who talks with Amel quickly sees a keen mind and a passion for the things she does. I don't think that's- there's any question there. Um, and- and the amount of work that Amel has put in. One of the many things that Amel and I have spoken about, um, and one of the ways that- that Amel gained, uh, a great deal of my trust and confidence, uh, was that she talked passionately about the need to build bridges, um, within all the communities that were- that needed to be part of this truth and reconciliation process. And in fact, that was one of the things that the previous council before it was on here last fall talked about and ask the TRC to do. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 21 And indeed, we have seen that work progress. Amel also spoke in very clear terms about her frustrations when members of the TRC would engage in venting, uh, publicly about personal grudges and beefs they had with other members of our community. And one of the things that I really appreciated a- about the job that Amel has done is that she had made it, and again, we had multiple conversations about this, um, to move those meetings and to move those public spaces into a sense of professionalism and a sense of, hey, we have a mission, the important thing here is our mission and we need to get this job done. I appreciate that, I respect that. And indeed, when I pop in and I'd watch things online or I'd stop into a meeting, or I- I would go to see some of the speakers such as the, uh, the gentleman who had the experience with the Japanese internment camps, it appeared that things were going well. And in fact, we've seen evidence that things have been, uh, progressing just this week with the stuff that came before the Council. Um, the draft of a proposal and it's exciting a- and I'm a 100 percent on board with moving together - forward with the process the previous council started, to move towards these circles, to move towards that reconciliation. I think that work is- is- the cause and the purpose behind it is noble and good. But, um- and, you know, as I said, and, you know, it was evidenced that a corner had been turned and that was also part of our conversation. Things that happened prior to, you know, in the last year -and -a -half, you know, in 2020, in 2021, the corner- it seemed like the corner had been turned. We're moving forward. We left the past behind. Um, I was happy for Amel, all the accomplishments, recent accomplishments; elected chair, and congratulated her because again, I've seen some really good signs of stuff. Um, and then it was- then- then hearing that podcast that was just published in June, um, it was worth a great deal of- I was surprised. I don't know that I would have believed that. And it was sadness and disappointed that I listened to those comments. Because, you know, personal beefs aside, they so casually dismissed the life's experiences of an entire generation of civil rights activists. Um, and just so casually dismissed a group like- like Black Voices Project. And just it was exactly the stuff that we'd had conversations about, that she was upset other people doing those kinds of things on the TRC. So, and that was just in the two -minute clip that we heard. You know, and I did want to hear the entire podcast. It hasn't been available. I'm assuming, um, that those that have control over it, if there were things on there that would be like, hey, no, it wasn't that bad or it was out of context, would have shared it by now. And that silence has been deafening. Um, and so that's, you know, that- that has been a real problem. And it's really almost heartbreaking to hear because we thought we had moved so far past that. And with somebody who has spoken better terms than I am now about the need to leave those sorts of comments behind, leave them in the dust, and move forward. Um, you know, any individual, of course, has a right to free speech. They have a right to go in front of a microphone, onto a podcast, on TV, on radio, newspaper, I don't care, they have a right to do that. But our conversations have been about, okay, when we do these - these kinds of comments, how do we move this work forward? Um, you know, and so my question has been since listening to this is, do I think the commission can move forward with Amel storm the commission after she went on tape. Again recently, this wasn't two years ago, this was just a few weeks ago. With the sadly divisive attacks on other components of our community. And I think that's the- for me, it's not about personal grudges, it's not about those kinds of things. It's like what has this done to the work that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 22 the commission is supposed to be doing? Um, it's worth noting, just as we engage in this discussion, we looked around. Regardless of what the council does in this matter, there is not really a win that appears to jump out at me. If the council does nothing, inaction is action. If the council does something that's action. There isn't a- there is no clean path forward. Um, no matter what happens at this point, once that podcast was aired, those public, and those are behind a paywall, it's still public. Um, we were in a bind, um, and the commission was put in a bind and all the commissioners and all the people who have done work and the supporters of this community and I continue to support the TRC. And I want- I'm excited to see that draft that we saw Tuesday. I'm excited to see what comes next. Um, and I appreciate the TRC members who have reached out to me to talk about like, Hey, can we do restorative justice in this case? To me, that speaks to- even though they were some of the people who probably maybe are dealing with some of these same feelings. Their first instinct was to go there speaks well to the future of that- of the commission as a whole, um, and that gives me hope. Um, it's also worth noting that we're only in this position. We are only having this discussion. We are only divided here as a council and as a community and everything else. Because in a moment of what I think otherwise to be a very intelligent and very compassionate person in a moment of poor decision-making, decided to go in front of a microphone and- and- and prioritize personal grudges and those things over the role of the TRC and the mission of the TRC. And that's the part that I've been really hung up on, uh, the last several days. Um, and, you know, to me that just- how- how do you have a commission, how do you- how do you keep that level of trust and moving forward? Um, so that to me is one of the things and- and, you know, it's not- and I only bring this up because it was brought up during comments. Um, and I don't know if supervisor Porter, uh, is also sort of noting the irony. Um, although we have been friends and we mentioned that for a long time, we can have very passionate disagreements. Um, and I see that she's nodding your head. And so the idea that that is actually- that actually because of that, I've tried really hard to keep any of that part of it out of the things that I play into this decision-making process. Um, I was really disappointed a few minutes ago, um, and so now I have to address this. I can guarantee you and anybody who's known me for any length of time at all knows that if anybody were to say something anti-LGBTQ or I don't care, I call that out. I have- that's absolutely- that's absolutely untrue. I don't care if it was the second coming that came out here and said, you know, something disparaging about somebody as a member of the queer community or trans community or the LGBTQ community, I wouldn't care. I would call that out. And so that's absolutely untrue that anything like that could be said in my presence and that I would- I would not react to it and with absolute sincerity and force. It just- it just would not be a thing that would happen. It never has happened, will not ever happen. Um, and so with that, again, thinking about the way to move forward, I don't like to be in this position. I don't like making this vote. I feel disappointed and sad that we're here. Um, but I tried to weigh out like, does the commission best move forward by just saying, Okay? Restorative Justice? Yes. But maybe not with that person on the commission. That does not exclude them from being part of a restorative justice process as we move forward. Uh, because I think that is something that- that certainly could come out of this process. In fact, I think back to one of the meetings I went to with the gentleman who was in the internment camps who spoke ironically, I was thinking of that This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 23 because they- he spoke to this need for this intergenerational understanding. Um, and, you know, that's obviously something that now has, you know, an old wound that has not been inflamed a little bit. And so that's where I come down with as I - as I- as I think about this. And- and as much as I don't like having to be in this position and don't like having to do it, I don't see a path forward with somebody who would do this after telling me that this is a bad thing to do to stay on the commission. Teague: Any fmal comments from commission, um, from counselors? And I do request you to keep them brief. Bergus: Yeah. Yes. I just want to briefly highlight that, um, the decision that's before us is a yes or no to remove Amel Ali from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And what I have heard my colleagues who appear to be in support of removal say is that their decision will be based on a moment of poor decision-making and disappointment. And if we cannot allow a young person who is trying to find their way through some of the most difficult things we place m front of them, a moment of poor decision-making. Before saying you cannot serve, you cannot serve this city. That is what we are about to say, if you vote, yes. If only we could give each other the grace of a moment of poor decision- making as if any of us on this dais have not mis-stepped, insulted, made poor choices, had moments of- of failure, and speaking to profanity as a reason to remove someone from public service. I'm sorry, but I know what I heard on Tuesday night. Profanity is not a reason to remove someone from public service. People have a right to express themselves and to do so passionately. It is wrong to remove someone who has shown a willingness to give so much to this community for words that they said that caused harm when they want to address that harm. Teague: So this is um- um I'm taking it that you're done. Correct? So this, um, is you know definitely a- a- a really sensitive decision before this council. And I would agree this is the removal- removal of a commission member Amel Ali. Um, when it comes down to restorative justice, I think that restorative justice and being on this council are not hand in hand, they don't need to be together, so it can take place. A- again, I mentioned earlier about where Amel Ali has positioned is key. It is key for our community, the- the- the - what we're asking of the Truth and Reconcili- uh Truth and Reconciliation Commission has to provide a space for people to come and tell their truths, feel welcomed. And this moment of poor decision-making was not a moment. There was months of these discussions. Personally, I've- personally this has also- I mean, I- I- I have, you know, met with Amel Ali. I'm trying to keep, you know, to this. I think that we've had great conversations, um, but there are some troubling things. Um, one is you know how to you know how she talks about her TRC commissioners. And I think that that will be coming to light. I mean, two in this room would, you know, talk very horri- horribly about. Um, and all she wants is for the commission members to vote. But again, I just think that, um, this isn't a moment of poor decision-making. And if we're talking about her remaining on this commission, I think where she's positioned is key and being on this commission really stumps this work to be collaborative, for people to be feelling unified, for their truths to be heard because if she hear Orville Townsend's comment one more time, which This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 24 he said he'd never even talked about. So if she's talking about she don't want to hear people truth but yet that is- that is yes, that is, you know- you know, the dimension of this commission. So for me it lands that yes, you still belong in this community. You still belong a part of this, uh, you know, um whatever aspect you feel comfortable at being a part of when it comes down to reconciliation. Um, but when it comes down to being on this commission, I do not believe that it is appropriate. So for me, positioning Amel Ali is key. Taylor: I'11- I'll just add something that might be kind of an elephant in the room but, um as far as things that have been said and with all due respect to Ms. Ali, she kind of implied in- in some of her comments that, uh, she'd been feeling, and these weren't her words, but under stress is what and- and talked about mental health aspect. And I know those are major concerns in our- in our country and in our state. And I'm- I'm- I'm just [OVERLAPPING] okay. I don't want to- I'm not gonna go there, but I just [OVERLAPPING] Ali: I was stressed. Those meetings sucked. Teague: Please continue- please continue Councilor Taylor. Taylor: I just don't want you to be stressed because I brought that up. Okay. [OVERLAPPING] Ali: And I do not appreciate that. Taylor: I just don't want you to be stressed. Is all. That's not- that's not the intent. Alter: Is it possible for- is this possible for us- I know that the vote before us is an up and down - is it possible for us to amend this, to table it so that we can go forward with the original plan of speaking to this in our next formal meeting to allow for some of the processes to take place that have been suggested by multiple people, including on council? Teague: Are you making a motion? Alter: I am. Teague: There has been a motion by Alter. Weiner: Second. Teague: Seconded by Weiner. We'll proceed with votes. Goers: And to be clearer, tabling to the August 16th meeting. Alter: That's correct. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022. Page 25 Teague: That is the motion. [Roll call] Motion passes 6-1. All right. Could I have a motion to adjourn. Weiner: So moved Teague: Moved by Weiner. Bergus: Seconded, Bergus. Teague: Seconded by Bergus. All in favor say Aye [Voice vote] Motion passes 7-0 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of August 4, 2022.