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Residents praise city response to large square gathering; council members urge civility after yard sign vandalism
Summary
A resident said an event on the square drew over 6,000 people and praised the mayor and police for keeping the gathering peaceful; council members used the meeting to call for civility after several councilmembers reported yard sign vandalism and discussed free-speech principles.
Brian Drys, a Medina resident, told the council that what began as a small gathering grew substantially after social media and that city staff and police provided assistance that helped keep the event peaceful.
"I just wanna just take a moment and thank Mayor Hanwell for his guidance, in helping these two organize this event. Special shout out to, Chief Kenny for being there, providing some additional eyes on the, on the crowd," Drys said, and added that, "according to the reports that I got, there were over 6,000 people at the square on the fourteenth, and there were no issues reported." He said the city should be proud of its handling of the event.
Council members used the council-comments portion of the meeting to urge civility. Councilmember Simpson spoke generally about asking elected officials and citizens to be kind in public discourse: "...as a society, we need to demand, at least from our elected officials starting at the federal government, state government, and our local government...that we should ask better of our elected representatives."
Councilmember Hair, who said she is running for re-election to her Ward 3 seat, read prepared remarks noting repeated vandalism of yard signs at her property and urging respect for free-speech rights. "I took a vow as a council member to uphold the United States Constitution...I absolutely believe in free speech for everyone," she said, and added that she will be installing security cameras after repeated sign theft and damage.
Councilmember Roach also criticized the destruction of yard signs and urged respect for others' rights. No formal action, investigation, or police report was announced on the council record during this meeting; the remarks were delivered during public comment and council comments as matters of civic concern and civility.
