Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was only five minutes into her first city council meeting on January 2 before it was derailed.

Eli Richey, a city council regular, was yelling at the council dais from the back of the room, airing his grievances about city hall's private security guards. As always, he carried a cell phone to livestream his interactions on social media.

"Mr. Richey, I'm not going to ask you again. Please either stop, or I'm going to ask you to leave," said Mayor Ted Wheeler. A few seconds later, Wheeler called a recess, during which security guards escorted Richey from the council chambers.

Children who had come with their families to witness the historic day—the first council meeting with a Black woman at the dais—giggled or looked wide-eyed at their parents as Richey continued to yell from the sidewalk outside of city hall.

In a press conference held later that day, Hardesty told reporters that she had asked Wheeler if those kind of disruptions were a normal occurrence. "And he said, 'It's every week,'" said Hardesty, shaking her head.

Interruptions and outbursts from community members—who either run over the three minutes allotted to members of the public to speak before council, or aren't signed up to testify—have become a staple of Portland City Council sessions. It's become unusual for a council session to pass without Mayor Ted Wheeler having to pause the meeting while city hall security guards wrangle an irate attendee out of council chambers. And it's often the same two to three people who bring council sessions to a standstill—men like Richey who call themselves "copwatchers" who film city meetings and regularly accuse city officials of specifically targeting them.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the eve of her third city council session, Hardesty called for an end to the constant disruptions that derail and detract from the democratic process.

"I am concerned about how privilege and, specifically white male privilege, is limiting the public’s access to city hall." Hardesty said. "This behavior limits access to those entering this building for the very first time or for those who are new to the political process. This is not the spirit of speaking up for civic change that is the heart of activism."

Hardesty points out that the disruptions often are caused by a "small group of white men" who are disrespectful and self-centered. But, she added, she respects their desire to be heard by their elected officials.

"However, their issues and concerns shouldn’t drown-out the voices of others who come to this building seeking the same access and opportunity," Hardesty said. "As someone who has spent time a lot of time on the other side of this podium demanding accountability, I find it chilling and disrespectful that there are a few white men who think that everything this council does is about them. It isn’t."

Hardesty closed with a call to white Portlanders: "Encouraging other white men and women to check the behavior of those who seek to drown out the voices of others. Civic discourse cannot thrive if it is not coupled with civility and respect for all others."

She's not the only member of city council who's aired concerns with the men who often follow city commissioners around with video cameras, yelling questions. Last week, Commissioner Chloe Eudaly shared a recent interaction with several of them on her Facebook page:

"Today three different people who self-identify as experiencing mental illness showed up at my work and had altercations with staff, security, and other community members," Eudaly wrote. "I was followed, filmed, and loudly harassed for over half a mile while walking to a lunch meeting that I was already late for."

"There are multiple avenues for petitioning your elected representatives and getting your voice heard," she continued. "I don’t think following someone down the street, creating a spectacle, causing extreme stress, and disrupting pedestrians is one of them."

It's an issue city council has tried, unsuccessfully, to address in the past. In 2015, former Mayor Charlie Hales banned council regular Joe Walsh from attending council sessions for a series of months. Walsh sued the city for violating his first amendment rights, and won. This recent loss might give Wheeler (and the city attorney's office) pause before trying to limit the council's current interruption problems.

Hardesty plans to publicly address this issue at this morning's city council session.