Berwyn mayor threatens to shut down public comment after allegations of voter intimidation

Berwyn Mayor Robert Lovero began the March 9 City Council meeting by invoking an ordinance he claimed specifically prohibited “political” speech during the open forum portion of the meeting.

However, the city does not have such an ordinance listed in its publicly searchable online compendium of ordinances.

The argument is not a new one for Lovero. He cited a prohibition against “political” speech last year when he initially shut down attempts to allow a Black Lives Matter mural on public property. He changed his stance on that matter after it was pointed out that Black Lives Matter is a statement of fact rather than a political statement.

Lovero’s March 9 contention that political speech was prohibited at City Council meetings preceded two Berwyn residents who cited instances of voter intimidation and social distancing violations on Election Day and before Election Day by supporters of the Democratic Citizens of Berwyn party, which is led by the mayor.

The voter intimidation allegations made March 9 echoed those made at the Feb 24 City Council meeting by longtime resident Luz Chavez. At that meeting, Lovero responded to Chavez and stated, “Thank you for your slanted facts.”

At the March 9 meeting, however, Lovero did not dispute any of the allegations, this time responding that he had “talked to the gentleman” involved, adding, “I’ll take it further from there.” It was unclear which “gentleman” he was referring to or what further steps would be taken.

Before residents took the floor for public comment, Lovero cautioned them.

“If there are any comments of a political nature or bashing any member of the City Council, I will shut it off,” Lovero said. “We have a specific ordinance against that. If you have political comments, use your chat boards.”

Lovero did not respond to requests for comment clarifying the “specific ordinance” to which he referred. Berwyn’s only ordinance governing public comment [Ordinance 210.09] at council meetings does not prohibit political speech and does not give the mayor the power to deem speech political.

The ordinance prohibits “profanity or scurrilous language,” and states that speakers cannot “use the privilege to make a personal attack upon council or any of its members or other officers of the city.”

At the March 9 public forum, a resident of the 1600 block of Highland Avenue, who identified herself as a nurse, described two encounters with the DCOB. The first was at 5 p.m. Jan. 28, she said, when she opened her door to a man wearing a DCOB emblem on his jacket, claiming he had the “mail-in ballot” she had requested.

Mail-in ballots are delivered by mail and not by political parties.

“I noticed the political emblem on his jacket, so I asked if he was there on behalf of that party,” she said. “He smirked and said quote ‘Yeah. I support the mayor. Sure. Don’t you?’ end quote. I clarified that I had not requested a mail-in ballot. He again asked me if I supported the mayor. I smiled. I thanked him and I closed the door. It was not a friendly encounter.”

The woman also described an incident in the 5th Ward on Election Day, when she and four others, including her 6-year-old son, volunteered for independent 5th Ward aldermanic candidate Robert J. Pabon, who eventually defeated his DCOB opponent.

About 2 p.m., she said, three SUVs “simultaneously” pulled up to the corner of Ridgeland Avenue and 15th Street, where the group was handing out palm cards and talking to voters.

“At least 12 men stepped out. Six of those men made their way to the corner where we were standing. They stood behind us, next to us and strategically surrounded us. They literally were inches behind us, next to us. It was very intimidating,” she said.

“As they finished placing themselves within inches of us, I asked if it was common practice and further, necessary, for them to impose themselves,” she said. “One man quickly responded, ‘Yes. It’s a public walkway.’ I turned around and found myself directly in front of his face, to the point where I had to actually step back so I could have a decent space between us. He was standing 6 inches away. He was not wearing a mask at the time.

“The first thing I thought was to ask him to mask up or step away. He said he couldn’t mask because he had allergies. Me being a nurse, I told him that his allergies shouldn’t impede wearing a mask. He laughed and said if I felt threatened, I should move. I stopped engaging and a call was made to the [voters] advocate line.

“The behavior was obvious and occurred under the presence of multiple DCOB supporters, a candidate and a current alderman. I did not feel safe,” she continued. “I realize we cannot control the actions of others or how they chose to respectfully or not respectfully support others. But as a resident of Berwyn, I feel it is important for you, Mayor Lovero, to know this behavior is unacceptable. And it happened. And I am here to let you know it happened.”

Lovero said he was notified of the incident.

“I did become aware of this incident after the fact,” he said. “And I spoke to that gentleman. I didn’t know who he was until I met him later that evening. So I have spoken to him. I have addressed his behavior with him, and I’ll take it further from there.”

When Chavez stood to address the council, Lovero prefaced her comments with, “Ms. Chavez, if this is going to be political, I’m going to shut you down again.”

Chavez replied, “This is about voter intimidation. That is city business.”

She then reminded the council that at its last meeting, she had summarized several instances of voter intimidation, including the one on Election Day in the 5th Ward.

“You could have chosen to show concern, integrity, leadership and compassion. Instead, you said, ‘thank you for your slanted facts.’ You deny, discredit and dehumanize. It was extremely disrespectful to what this woman experienced,” Chavez said.

At several points, 5th Ward Alderman Cesar Santoy, who did not run for reelection, attempted to talk over Chavez after she called him out as being present with the men who pulled up to Ridgeland Avenue on Election Day. Lovero also interrupted Chavez, admonishing her not to “attack” council members.

To the former, Chavez repeated, “I have the floor” until Santoy stopped talking. To the latter, she said, “I’m not attacking. I’m just listing who was present.”

“It was not the independent candidates being asked by Univision about corruption,” Chavez concluded in a reference to the sole press interview that Lovero gave during the campaign. “Community activism and civic engagement continues to grow in Berwyn despite how much you try to shut it down.”