High School Students Take On Concord Committee Meeting
Written by: Ananya Pinnamaneni
Concord Committee and City Council Meeting 2022
On October 18th, 2022, the Concord Policy Development & Internal Operations Committee held a meeting to discuss potential amendments to the Concord Municipal Code regarding the sale and use of tobacco products and enforcement of such regulations. I attended this meeting to provide a public comment about the impact that flavored tobacco products in particular have on youth and urge the committee to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products in Concord.
There were 20-25 individuals total that gave a public comment. Of those, about 10 were teenagers. Even though all the youth speakers covered similar topics, so many of us attending the meeting definitely had a positive impact in terms of influencing the committee members.
When I entered, I had to fill out a slip with my information and give it to one of the individuals sitting with the committee members. I had to wait around 30 minutes before my name was called. Although I was nervous at first, hearing everyone else talk helped ease my nerves a bit. I had prepared my comment and timed it to make sure it was close to 3 minutes before the meeting, but I made some changes to it as the others spoke since I didn’t want my comment to be too similar to anyone else’s.
After listening to the numerous passionate public comments, the Policy Development & Internal Operations Committee decided to forward the issue of revising the tobacco ordinance to the main City Council of Concord. Many of the same speakers from the committee meeting, including myself, as well as multiple new speakers voiced their concerns at the City Council meeting as well. This time around, there was a Zoom option as well for those who were unable to make it to the meeting in person.
At the conclusion of the City Council meeting, the Council members decided to request the staff to bring back to them for consideration in the near future a revision of the city’s existing bare bones Tobacco Retail License to include: minimum price, minimum pack size, no redemption of tobacco coupons or discounts, no sale of electronic cigarettes (flavored or unflavored), no sale of flavored products, including hookah, and consistent compliance checks and meaningful penalties for violations.
Tips for Going to City Council Meetings:
Include personal anecdotes (from your own life or what you’ve heard from your peers)
Practice your comment beforehand to ensure it is within the time limit
Don’t just read off of your paper; try to make eye contact with the council members you’re speaking to
Research the topic you’re speaking about and try to find some compelling statistics
Make sure you have a strong call to action at the end
