Officials to hold special meeting on ordinance

The Clovis city commission has scheduled a “special session” for Thursday to consider a “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance.

Mayor Mike Morris said District 3 Commissioner David Bryant requested the special session. The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:15 p.m. and there is only one item on the agenda: “Request for approval of introduction of an ordinance requiring abortion providers in the city of Clovis to comply with federal law.”

Multiple attempts to reach Bryant were unsuccessful.

Morris said last week he planned to introduce the proposed ordinance at the commission’s regular meeting on Oct. 20.

But Morris said that on Monday he received Bryant’s “express written request” for the special meeting.

Assistant City Manager Claire Burroughes said any commissioner may request a special session in writing and it will be granted, according to the city charter.

Morris wrote in an email to The News that he wanted the meeting later because “I feel it’s our duty to fully research and vet something like this to avoid taking a misstep out of haste.  And this is certainly the kind of thing we would want our entire commission on hand for.”

In Morris’ email he wrote that Commissioners Helen Casaus and Megan Palla told Bryant they would be unable to attend a meeting on Thursday because of prior commitments. Morris said the commissioners’ absence is “unfortunate.”

Attempts to contact Casaus and Palla were not successful.

Other commissioners contacted by The News said they were not sure how they might vote on the issue, intended to ban abortion clinics from the city. Currently, there are no clinics that provide abortions in Clovis or the region. Abortion is legal under state law.

Commissioner Lauren Rowley said commissioners will hear what people have to say “then make our decision.”

Rowley said she’s had no phone calls on the matter but a number of emails.

“Many of the emails were from people whose names I didn’t recognize and they stated they weren’t from Clovis,” she said.

Commissioner George Jones said he’s had one phone call and a few emails regarding the proposed ordinance.

“The phone call was from Clovis,” Jones said. “The majority of the emails were from outside Clovis.”

Jones said commissioners have been reviewing the ordinance.

“We are in discussions with our city attorney [Jared Morris] to check to find any concerns he might have,” Jones said.

Jones and other commissioners said they won’t decide how they will vote until they have more information.

Mayor pro-tem and District 4 commissioner Chris Bryant said, “I am completely pro-life but I want to be sure we’re doing this the correct way.”

Chris Bryant said he has not received any phone calls on the issue but has received e-mails.

“All of my e-mails have been pro-life,” he said. “I have a few from Clovis but a lot from out of town.”