SR 07-26-2011 13C13-C
July 26, 2011
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE -MEMORANDUM
To: City Council
From: Mayor Bloom, Mayor Pro Tem Davis
Date: July 26, 2011
13-C: Request of Mayor Bloom and Mayor Pro Tem Davis that the Council direct
staff to craft a civility agreement to further the City's commitment to foster
civil discourse. The agreement would apply to City and community
meetings and be based on the principles outlined in the U.S. Conference of
Mayors Civility Agreement.
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THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
CIVILITY ACCORD
January 19, 2011
On the morning of January 8, 2011, gunshots fired in one of our nation s great cities
reverberated through all of America. A federal judge and arsine-year-old girl were among the
six people killed that day in Tucson, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the
shooting rampage, was among the 14 more who were wounded. The pain inflicted on them,
their families; and the entire Tucson community is shazed by people across our nation.
Regardless of what the motives behind the tragedy in Tucson might have been, it occurred in an
atmosphere in which public discourse is often confrontational and lacking in civility. We
should use this event as a point of depazture, to recommit ourselves to building a more civil
society in which each person is respected and public and political discourse are aimed at the
betterment of our nation and its people and not the destruction of those with whom we
disagree. As President Barack Obama said in the January 12 memorial service, "only a more
civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation."
We believe that because mayors are the elected leaders closest to the people, restoration of
civility must begin with us. We are in a unique position to have a positive impact on behavior -
individual and collective -and to lead by example. While the tragedy in Tucson is the impetus
for this Accord, it represents a commitment that must live on in every mayor in our nation from
this day forward.
Through The U.S. Conference of Mayors, we, the mayors of America's cities, in order to restore
civility to our communities and through them to our nation, pledge our commitment to the
fallowing principles for civility:
• Respect the right of all Americans to hold different opinions;
• Avoid rhetoric intended to humiliate, de-legitimatize, or question the patriotism of those
whose opinions are different from ours;
• Strive to understand differing perspectives;
• Choose words cazefully;
• Speak truthfully without accusation, and avoid distorfion;
• Speak out against violence, prejudice, and incivility in all of their forms, whenever and
wherever they occur.
We further pledge to exhibit and encourage the kinds of personal qualities that are emblematic
of a civil society: gratitude, humility, openness, passion for service to others, propriety,
kindness, caring, faith, sense of duty, and a commitment to doing what is right.
The immediate need is to help our citizens through this difficult period. Our long term
responsibility is to work with them to build that civil society.
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