Disturbance halts Fresno City Council meeting Thursday

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- City council business ground to a halt on Thursday. Council President Annalisa Perea paused the meeting because of an interruption in the chamber.

"I apologize. I'm going to call a five-minute break," she said.

In the audience, County Board of Supervisors candidate Dion Bourdase had what councilmembers called a dangerous weapon: a stack of campaign signs with metal stakes.

City Attorney Andrew Janz says code enforcement officials had collected those signs -- and several others -- after some campaigns illegally placed them around the city.

It is a story Action News first covered last month when the warnings went out.

"Signs cannot be placed in the public right-of-way, not on sidewalks, not in medians, not on utility poles. They can be placed on private property with the permission of the owner," Janz said on Thursday.

Bourdase got his signs back from the Code Enforcement office inside City Hall. He then took them to the council chambers.

Security and Fresno Police officers asked Bourdase to leave, but he repeatedly refused.

"For the record, sir, you are disrupting the meeting, so I'm going to ask that you be removed at this time," Perea said. "Thank you very much."

"Sir, I'm not going anywhere," Bourdase told an officer.

With Bourdase detained and cited outside the chamber, the council meeting resumed after the several-minute delay.

But the incident was not the only interruption. Earlier in the meeting, a man's phone loudly rang several times, seeming to interrupt some speakers during public comment.

And just a few weeks ago, the city attorney says somebody entered a council meeting with a sharp pole.

In an interview with Action News, the council president said interruptions like those make it challenging for the council to do its work.

"We are here to conduct the business of the people of the City of Fresno," Perea said. "When we have people abruptly interrupting us and causing chaos here, we're not able to get the work done."

Perea also said there are several opportunities for the public to comment at council meetings and share their opinions respectfully.

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