Fake Question Time III- the Photos

And finally, here's one more eyewitness account, from Erika:

Third Fake Question Times, despite the lack of promotion, attracted more than 200 people. A scarcity of seats meant that dozens of people had to stand throughout the event's two-hour duration. Chairs were set up on both sides of the room, with the Mayor and health officials in the middle.

It was clear to me tonight, as I attended my first of these "Town Hall Meeting" with Mayor Gavin Newsom, that these are not town hall meetings at all. They should more accurately be called "Informational Meetings".

The event provided at least some details about the Health Access Plan (HAP), how it would work and what and whom it would cover.

But many in the crowd clearly wanted more than a lecture on the latest healthcare plan. There was plenty of drama, which began early and continued throughout. Not long after Mayor Newsom began speaking, activist Charles Kalish walked into the center of the room and began saying something about downtown businesses. Then, people in the crowd began chanting, many of them holding signs.

The crowd erupted with chants several times throughout the meeting. Many people also held up their hands for long periods of time, in hopes of being allowed to speak on microphone.

When chanting would begin, the mayor occasionally made remarks about how he would just wait until they were finished. Other times he would simply walk over to a table where notes were being taken on a projector and shuffle through question cards. Some folks would yell "shut up" in an attempt to shout down those erupting into chants. Others would approach them with question cards.

Both the disrupters and those trying to quiet them had valid points, in my opinion. Those who came to hear about the Health Access Plan (HAP) should have been able to do so and did. But those shouting and disrupting also had a point: that the event was more of a lecture than a dialog, and that a true town hall meeting involves attendees being offered a chance to speak to the Mayor and the crowd. These folks were not allowed to speak at any point during the meeting.

There is a big difference between a meeting and a lecture – meetings are interactive. This is true not just for meetings within political organizations, but for meetings within companies and other private institutions as well.

Certainly, if the Mayor fulfilled the intentions of Proposition I by engaging with the Board of Supervisors, it would truly be a discussion. No Supervisor would be relegated to writing down questions on index cards.

To the Mayor's credit, he did give Supervisor Tom Ammiano his props for spearheading the healthcare plan. Mayor Newsom also said in no uncertain terms that the Golden Gate Restaurant Association's lawsuit regarding the healthcare plan was "wrong".

But the Mayor adds insult to injury by billing these events as "Town Hall Meetings". He and his staff should not be referring to these events as "dialog" and "discussion" with the "community".

For many in the audience hoping to be heard on real issues of concern, the meeting was nothing but a dog and pony show providing information we could have gotten from a news story or government fact sheet.