nothin Harp Backs Smart’s Gag Order | New Haven Independent

Harp Backs Smart’s Gag Order

Faced with a challenge from outraged critics, Mayor Toni Harp came out in support Thursday of City Clerk Michael Smart’s order that his staff not talk to the press, then offered a more nuanced view of her own on city workers’ free-speech rights.

Harp said Smart should have the ability to set the rules in his department, including his recent decision that city clerk’s office employees may not speak to reporters.

In general, Harp said, city employees should defer to department heads when it comes to talking to the press about city policies. City workers should, however, be free to talk to the press about matters that affect them personally, Harp said.

Click the play arrow to hear Harp’s comments, and her views on her staff’s decision this week to close a section of City Hall, including the public information office, to public access.

She sounds like she’s running the Politburo or something,” Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Michael Stratton, author of a proposed city ordinance to ban gag orders like Smart’s, said in response to Harp’s comments on city worker freedom of speech. He called it absolutely outrageous” that Harp would support Smart’s prohibition on workers talking to press.

Smart, Harp, and Stratton all took office Jan. 1. Smart almost immediately found himself embroiled in controversy after he created an illegal policy prohibiting his staff from handing out public documents without his permission. Click the play arrow to hear Smart talk about his policy at the time.

Smart rescinded that policy after an Independent article exposed the practice. But he kept in place a gag order preventing his staff from talking to the press.

Stratton, and other members of a newly formed People’s Caucus” on the Board of Alders, objected to Smart’s gag order. They have submitted proposed legislation that would make such orders illegal, and a law that would eliminate the city clerk position altogether. (Click on the video to watch them storm the clerk’s office Tuesday to announce the bills.) In an interview earlier this week, Smart defended his policy. He said government agencies need to speak with a consistent voice. When a reporter asks a question that a staffer can better answer, he will then authorize that staffer to respond, he said. But you want to make sure you have one message. You don’t want to have people out there” confused about a government office’s position, he said.

Speaking at an unrelated event on Thursday, Harp said she had heard about the controversy over Smart’s original order but hadn’t been aware of Smart’s continued policy restricting his staff’s communication with the press.

He is the department head for that department. He can set the rules for communication,” Harp said of Smart. I wasn’t aware of that, but that certainly is within his responsibilities.”

Asked if she thinks the same rule should apply to her other departments, Harp said city workers should not be quoted on formal department policy if they don’t know what it is. Certainly if they’re speaking about something that only affects them as individuals, but not the policy of the city, they should be able to talk to the press.

But only certain people can talk on behalf of departments,” she said. That’s normally the department head, unless the department head has delegated that to someone else.”

Harp said she hadn’t heard about the legislation submitted by the People’s Caucus, to prohibit gag orders and do away with the city clerk position. I would have to look at them,” she said when asked her position. This is the first I’m hearing about either one of them.” Click here and here for stories in two media outlets reporting on the People’s Caucus proposals. Click here to sample public commentary on the proposals.

Certainly people are allowed to set the rules in their own departments, but not when those rules run counter to the constitution and the best interests of New Haven,” Stratton said. People don’t lose their free speech rights when they go to work for New Haven.”

It’s important that civil servants be able to tell us their opinions,” Stratton said. This isn’t like the secret ingredients of Coke or something.” City workers are doing the people’s business” and often know a lot more than elected officials, Stratton said.

I do think workers talk at their own risk,” Stratton said. If someone speaks and is undermining their boss or saying things that aren’t true, I think they can be terminated.” The city can respond to things that city workers say, but you can’t put a prior restraint on free speech,” Stratton said.

This is not an Eastern Bloc country where we have to protect our alders from any insubordination,” Stratton said. Workers are not immune if they say things that are damaging, untrue, or libelous. They speak to the press at their own risk.”

Stratton called Harp’s support of Smart’s order a horrible way to start your term.”

It’s frightening that she would be that tone deaf,” he said.

Jeanne Leblanc, spokeswoman for the Connecticut ACLU, said municipal employees’ rights to free speech are murky. The free speech rights of public employees when they are speaking in an official capacity is a very complex area of the law,” she said. There is no bright line on this.”

First Amendment cases involving city workers have gone both ways, so it’s impossible to predict whether a court would rule Smart’s policy is unconstitutional, she said. It’s not a real obvious rule, as there are in some other free speech cases.”

Keycard Access

In another controversial move under the new administration, newly installed deputy community services head Jackie James instructed staff to seal off part of City Hall, making it accessible only to people with key cards. The act prompted heated criticism.

Asked about James’ order Thursday, Harp said she hadn’t been aware of it. (Click here to read a previous story about it. Click here to sample the flood of public comments reacting to it.)

Harp said presidents of municipal unions met with her on her first or second day in office and expressed concern that people can just wander through City Hall.”

City Hall needs to have a good security plan” and access control,” she said.

I don’t think anyone wants to stop people from coming in. We just want to know who’s coming in,” Harp said.

She said a new committee chaired by police Chief Dean Esserman will look at how to secure City Hall. The concern is not to keep the press out, but that people could just wander through. We’ve had a number of pocketbooks stolen.”

The goal is to prevent theft while allowing people with city business — including the press — to have access to City Hall, Harp said.

She said limiting entry to people with keycard access is not the final answer to the question of City Hall security.

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