News

In wake of tumult, commission changes public comment policy

By John Pacenti

Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga said that the FBI is investigating a death threat made against him in July.

City Commissioner Thomas Turkin said he has also been the target of threats.

The threats came after a contentious July 2 commission meeting where Penserga cut off public comments from two women who believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, leading Turkin to criticize the mayor for not letting them speak. Commissioners abruptly adjourned the meeting as one of the speakers who refused to stop talking was being led out of the chamber by police on orders from the mayor.

Penserga said he was enforcing a policy that public comments had to pertain to items that are within the purview of the City Commission — a policy that commissioners agreed to do away with July 30 in the aftermath of the meeting meltdown, the threats that followed and an unsuccessful staff attempt to delay public comments until late in the commission’s regular agendas.

Penserga’s actions at the July 2 meeting led Turkin to shout at the mayor that he felt citizens had a First Amendment right to address the commission as they saw fit. When some in the gallery applauded, Turkin said, “Don’t clap, because I don’t agree with a lot that has been said.”

One of the women — Candace Rojas, a former candidate for Palm Beach Town Council and the Palm Beach Soil & Water Conservation District — is a well-known, vocal election denier who has appeared before many area commissions. She told the commission she was speaking to “restore the republic.”

Boynton Beach resident Candace Rojas is escorted out of the July 2 City Commission by police after Mayor Ty Penserga cut her off for speaking during public comments about items not in the purview of the commission. At a July 30 commission workshop, commissioners said they would end that public comment policy and allow speakers to talk on whatever topics they would like. City of Boynton Beach meeting video

“As a sovereign American I am putting you on notice,” Rojas said before being cut off by Penserga and escorted out by police when she refused to leave the lectern.

While officials would not comment on the specific threats, the video of the July 2 meeting was removed from the city’s YouTube and website pages after threats were made to city commissioners, Boynton Beach spokeswoman Chelsea Sanabia said July 17. The threats were under police investigation, she said.

Police spokeswoman Holly Piccano told a reporter from The Coastal Star to make a public records request when asked if the threats stemmed from the July 2 meeting.

The first public mention of a death threat occurred when a speaker mentioned it during public comments at the July 16 commission meeting. Penserga and Turkin were absent from that meeting.

Penserga, returning a phone call July 26, said he was reluctant to speak further about the death threat without consulting the FBI. He did elaborate that the threat was made in an anonymous voicemail.

Turkin, who said he also received threats, responded July 24 to a text message seeking comment:

“Due to the plethora of investigations that are ongoing internally and with other three-letter agencies pertaining to multiple threats/conspiring actions against myself and other members of the commission, I will refrain.”

At the commission’s July 16 meeting, new public comment rules created by staff caught commissioners by surprise.

The three commissioners in attendance at that meeting balked at the changes and chose to follow the commission’s past practices until they had an opportunity to discuss any changes in how they do business.

The new rules would have pushed public comments from near the beginning of commission meetings to near the end. They also would require each resident who wanted to speak to fill out a comment card and file it with the city clerk.

“I was disappointed they were added to the agenda without having input from my colleagues,” Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley said at the meeting.

“I was blind-sided by this and I don’t like it,” Commissioner Woodrow Hay said.

At the July 30 workshop, commissioners agreed to remove the limitation that speakers must address city issues and to allow comments —as Penserga said — to be about “basically anything and everything.”

They also agreed to keep public comments at the start of the commission meeting, allow online comments and not to require public comment cards.

Penserga and Turkin, though, complained about a July 29 community meeting where they said they were defamed.

“Lies were said about something I did last meeting. I wasn’t even here,” said Penserga, who told residents to “ask for receipts” when they hear criticism of him.

He said he doesn’t set the agenda and can’t get funding for causes without consensus of the commission.

Turkin said that free speech is all fine and good but the commission would not tolerate personal attacks or hate speech.

“We’ve seen what such political rhetoric does. We’ve seen it at the highest level, an attempted assassination on the former president.”