Speakers at the September 5, 2017 Council meeting, praised the Council for its fast reaction to recent controversial remarks made by prior mayor, Jeff Wieler.  Before Wieler resigned from the Council all Councilmembers had gone on record publicly stating Wieler should resign from his council seat for the sake of the City.

During the Public Forum, citizens addressed the Council with the following points:

• A representative of the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee thanked the Council and the public for their involvement and concern.  Notice was given of Piedmont’s upcoming anti-discrimination films.
• A new resident was shocked by the comments reported in the media, indicating opinions typical of the alt-right.  The publicly available open facebook page of Councilmember Tim Rood was praised as a good resource to learn a Councilmember’s opinions. It was suggested that all Councilmembers establish an open facebook page so that residents can learn about the positions of their elected Councilmembers.
• The Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) was praised for providing timely and accurate information on the issues.
• Speakers said there should be no place in Piedmont government for prejudicial statements and in the future more attention would be given to the Council actions.
• One speaker asked residents to write Jeff Wieler and note matters where he had contributed positively to the City.  In this way, he would learn to use his mind and his mouth for positive results.

During Public Forum, California’s sunshine law, the Brown Act, does not allow the Councilmembers to engage in discussions with speakers. 

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