Local government disables public comments; moves some citizen comments to the end of meetings.
The New Bern Board of Aldermen and Craven County Board of Commissioners restructure public participation in New Bern, NC. Some citizens turn to local news outlets’ social media to comment.
Anyone who has attended or watched Board of Commissioners meetings online have seen people petitioning their government since 2017 – until April 2026 when the commissioners decided not to livestream/record comments that aren’t related to agenda items like requests, event announcements, and other input. The decision was not made in public view so it’s unclear who voted, when, and why did they vote. Public comments were recorded again in July after receiving pushed back.
Craven County also disabled comments on their Facebook page, which have been allowed since the page was established in 2011. The county Sheriff’s Office and Board of Education have also disabled comments.
Beginning in April, city of New Bern citizens who petition the Board of Aldermen can’t speak at the beginning of the Board of Aldermen meetings unless the mayor decides that the subject a citizen wants to talk about is directly related to the official agenda, instead, they have to wait until the end of meeting to petition their government, which could be 2-3 hours or longer.
Public office holder uses position to frame public narrative
Meanwhile, an appointed public office holder — who has access to sensitive government information – uses their radio/internet show and official title to make political spin look like official facts while promoting their personal businesses and certain elected and appointed officials.
Public office holders use of social media
When government officials use social media “in their official capacities to comments by members of the public, the First Amendment forbids the officials from censoring these comments on the basis of viewpoint, according to an article on the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
Private news media companies
Some people believe private news media companies violate the First Amendment by deleting user comments, which is not true. The First Amendment protects people from government limits on speech, not private organizations as “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Lost in translation
Nonpartisan news articles about local government are lost in translation on social media when some people comment on headlines without reading the articles. With the upcoming election approaching, political actors, artificial intelligence bots, and others are flooding local news comment sections to promote scams, candidates, partisan politics, phishing links, among other things. This is all happening while tens of millions of dollars in municipal bonds are being considered/and or floated in New Bern and Craven County. Ratepayers and property taxpayers will pay back the bond’s principal and interest for years to come. The city is also working on changes to the land use ordinance related to data centers.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.