LFP Mayor, City Attorney, City Administrator Fail To Respond To Potential Censurship Inquiry

In this era of Civil Rights violations and media censorship, it's shocking that it could be happening right here in our own city. In the video below, Mayor Tom French "reminds" City Council Candidate Bryce James (Pos 1) that he can't comment about Prop 1 during a city council meeting, stating that it's "state law".  Bryce obliges by modifying his public remarks. 

A "News Flash Civic Alert" on the city website that stated in part "...comments for or against the City's proposed levy lid lift are not allowed during Council meetings, including the Public Comment period" has been removed from the city website. We've asked the city webmaster to reinstate the link, but have not received a reply as of this writing. 

Screen print from cityoflfp.gov

On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the LFP Town Crier contacted the Mayor, City Attorney, and City Administrator, stating that the Mayor's reference to "state law" prohibiting City Council Candidate Bryce James (Pos 1) from discussing proposed levy measures in City Council meetings before he spoke appeared to be incorrect. As of this writing, no response or acknowledgment of having received the email has been received from these public officials. 

A copy of the email and the RCW statutes referenced is below, referencing RCW 42.17A.555, which states in part, "Public comment cannot be censored. Members of the public can speak for or against the levy under normal comment rules. The City must remain neutral but cannot silence speakers for expressing advocacy."

A recent trend in governments, both big and small, is a growing tendency to ignore or refrain from commenting, thereby stonewalling critics and the media. Some would call this anti-democratic. If you feel compelled to weigh in with our mayor, his email address is: tfrench@cityoflfp.gov