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Council backs administrative endorsement of volunteer 'handwriting the Constitution' project after clarifying limits
Summary
The council agreed the town will endorse a volunteer-led, verbatim transcription art project called 'handwriting the Constitution' and asked staff to ensure displays contain only the exact constitutional text, not interpretive commentary.
The Los Gatos Town Council on March 17 signaled support for a community art project that would bring residents together to hand‑transcribe the U.S. Constitution for public display, instructing the town manager and staff to proceed administratively and to verify that any displayed material is a verbatim transcription.
The project, proposed to the council as a DEI commission‑backed community art activity, was described at public comment by Gordon Yamate as a volunteer effort that "will not cost the town anything" and would be supported by community contributions and voluntary participation. Yamate emphasized the project is intended to be a literal transcription: "This project is really just transcribing the literal language of the constitution."
Several council members pressed staff to ensure the project would not display interpretive content that could be construed as political speech in town facilities. Council member Badami raised concerns about the project's title and the potential for symbolic messaging; other council members said they expected the work to be a verbatim transcription and cautioned staff to check final displays before placing them in town chambers.
The town manager told the council the administrative approach would be to endorse a verbatim transcription and assist with publicity and venue identification, while the third‑party organizer would run the events and accept volunteer contributions. The assistant town manager clarified the town's role: it could "endorse" and publicize the event and help identify public spaces, but the host responsibilities would remain with the third party.
There was no formal ordinance or resolution taken at the meeting; council members indicated consensus that the town manager may proceed administratively to support the project and that any display labeled by the town would use an unambiguous title spelled correctly (staff said it would avoid ambiguous or potentially misleading captions). The council asked staff to ensure the final product is a true transcription before any town endorsement of a public display.
