Fifteen years as a public servant and an elected official have taught me something about the way democracy works best. The most innovative and creative ideas usually come not from us politicians and the professionals we hire, but from the other side of the table where the public sits.

It may be time-consuming and uncomfortable to listen to hours of public comment about an issue that we may think we already have all the answers to, but time and again I am surprised by some well-informed citizen stepping up to the microphone and providing a solution or at least the seeds of a solution that I have overlooked.

California law sets forth some pretty specific guidelines about the way public officials are to conduct the public's business and the manner in which public meetings are to be run. A particular section of the Government Code known as the Ralph M. Brown Act, mandates that with very few exceptions, all members of the public be permitted to address any issue on a government body’s agenda.

I believe that the Clearlake City Council violated that law in limiting and then shutting down the public hearing regarding Provinsalia on Feb. 26.

Even if the city's lawyer can make some argument that the council acted technically within the law (which is unlikely), it is poor policy to treat the public as the enemy rather than the source of wisdom that they usually are.

Herb Gura lives in Clearlake Oaks.

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