Houston City Council to stop publishing addresses, phone numbers of public speakers – Houston Public Media

Houstonians who want to provide public comment at city council meetings will no longer have their home addresses and phone numbers publicized.

Houston City Council approved a new rule on Wednesday instructing the City Secretary to no longer disclose the information publicly.

Council members Edward Pollard, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Tiffany Thomas and Martha Castex-Tatum pushed for the change. Pollard said it's important for city departments to have contact information for public speakers.

"But it's not important for the general public to have that information," he said. "It puts them at danger. It sometimes causes people hesitancy to come forward. And so we want to remove that barrier."

The existing rule requiring public speakers to disclose their home addresses and phone numbers was only recently enforced. A spokesperson for the mayor's office said the enforcement ramp up was intended to ensure speakers were city residents.

But pro-Palestinian organizers, who have voiced concerns about the city's investment in Israeli bonds amidst the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, felt targeted. The sudden enforcement came after months of protests in front of Mayor John Whitmire's home.

"I was really upset," said organizer Roseanna Al-Nashaar. "It seemed to me that it was kind of like a direct attack on people within the pro-Palestine organizing communities, but what enraged me even more is that although maybe it was a reaction to us, it was something that was harmful to every single Houstonian."

A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a question about whether the enforcement was sparked by the protests in front of Whitmire's home.

Al-Nashaar said the publication of personal information put her and others at risk.

"Domestic abuse survivors such as myself — what if they want to go speak at city council, but they don't want their abusive ex to have their new home address and phone number?" she said. "I just think about all the possibilities of how harmful that was to many Houstonians."

The clash over personal information wasn't the first instance of tension between Whitmire and organizers. As the protests in front of his home continued, Whitmire unsuccessfully pushed for an ordinance banning protests within 200 feet of a targeted residential home. At the time, he alleged without evidence that protestors were " being paid by Iran

Nishu Siddique, an organizer with Houston for Palestinian Liberation, said those comments made the public disclosure of home addresses more risky.

"It's just clearly dangerous precedent, specifically in tandem with the mayor's remarks," she said.

City council approved the new rule unanimously.

"We definitely should do all that we can to protect individuals' privacy when they want to come and petition their government," Castex-Tatum said.