My name is Joaquin R. Cortez, the Sussex Hedgehog, and I am writing to provide a formal statement regarding my targeted exclusion from the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting held March 18.
While sitting quietly with my three children, the hoglets, to observe the proceedings and support the recently introduced land-use reform ordinances, I was ordered by the commission to either remove my attire or leave the chambers.
The facts of the incident:
- Orderly conduct: My children and I were seated silently and were not disrupting the proceedings. We were there as concerned residents to witness the discussion on rural preservation and the recently introduced laws
- Denial of procedure: When I stood to raise a point of order and requested to approach the podium to clarify the rules being cited against me, I was immediately denied by the chair
- Retaliatory context: On the official record, the commission admitted that my previous appearance March 4 caught the commission off guard. It is clear my exclusion was not about a distraction, but was a targeted attempt to silence a resident who has been vocal about protecting our local forests.
The legal concern: This action constitutes viewpoint discrimination in a public forum. Under the First Amendment and Delaware’s Senate Bill 80, the government cannot arbitrarily bar a citizen from a public meeting based on symbolic expression that is not causing an actual disruption.
By removing a father and his children from a public building, the commission has shown a total disregard for transparency and the rights of the taxpayers they serve.
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