During the public comment segment of the June 15 Hillsborough County Commission meeting, held shortly before the body's now-infamous anti-gay pride vote, speaker after speaker pummeled elected officials for their decision to censor pride displays in county libraries. Ronda Storms, the commissioner who initiated the library move, had shown up late, but now sat on the dais with a smug smile on her face. It was an expression that said, "You can talk all you want, but it's NOT going to make a difference."

To be fair, Storms' arrogance is not the norm for local commissioners and council members, but sometimes it does look as if they merely endure the public forum part of their meetings. Some members read over notes, stare vacantly, engage in whispered sidebar meetings with aides, cheerily acknowledge people in the audience. Some even get up and leave. A few manage to look on attentively.

Regular speakers sense the indifference. "They're not listening," says Tony Daniel, a frequent and vociferous critic of the Tampa City Council. "They don't listen to anyone."

Elected officials insist they hear their constituents, but in some cases, admits St. Petersburg City Councilman Bill Foster, "it's like doing homework with the TV on. I hear every word they say, but there are some people who say the same thing over and over again that are not speaking to me any longer."

Most of the amateur orators at public forums are not there to shower their local representatives with verbal bouquets. Their criticism is harsh, often personal and not always based on fact.

"Our chairs have these lovely wooden things on them and sometimes I grip them very hard," says St. Pete Councilwoman Virginia Litrell with a chuckle. "And I think, 'OK, it's time to be calm.'"

The Hillsborough Commission requires speakers to address the body as a whole and not single out members, but they still take their share of personal abuse.

During the June 15 meeting, strip club mogul Joe Redner mocked Storms, asking her directly if she were bisexual. His comment earned a gavel crack from chairman Jim Norman.

"You go into this job expecting to have your turn [being criticized]," says Hillsborough commissioner Kathy Castor, one of the more attentive people on the dais. "If you don't know that's coming, you don't know the job very well. I see it with some new commissioners; they don't know how to take it."

Councilpersons and commissioners would prefer that speakers stick to the agenda or relevant topics, and make their points with a measured, professional delivery. Critics who take this approach can actually sway the board's thinking or introduce an appealing idea, panel members say; these speakers can actually get something done.

The most common refrain from city and county politicians is that, while not always finding public forum pleasant, they hold the custom dear. Freedom of speech, democracy in action and all that.

But for Litrell, it goes deeper. "It's kind of a compliment, if you think about it," she says. "These people sit through a meeting with something involving Council in the fore-focus of their thought. They want to speak to us directly. I don't think of it as a service we provide them. I think it's a compliment that they show up."

-Eric Snider

This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2005.