Wash. gadfly voices "colorful" opinion at city council meetings

Most towns have a gadfly, someone who's a bit eccentric and frequents local government meetings. Then there's Robert, "The Traveler" Hill, of Tacoma, Wash. He's a gadfly who, among other things, has been known to sit through meetings in his underwear.

Washington state's Pierce County wants him off the ballot. The City of Tacoma wants him to behave. Yet Hill seemed unfazed this week, if not oblivious, to the fact that if he keeps doing what he's been doing, he might go to jail.

Best known for his ill-fated run for county sheriff and for agitating for masturbation at public meetings, Hill was kicked out of a City Council meeting earlier this week.

Police warned him that he could be arrested if he disturbs another meeting.

Last week, the county filed paperwork asking a judge to remove his name from the November ballot after a recent forgery conviction rendered him ineligible.

Prosecutors have said his actions, which include bringing fake guns to public meetings, cause them to have "very serious concerns for public safety."

Hill, 38, was the only person police patted down before the council meeting this week.

"What am I going to say that's going to scare them?" he asked after being ejected. "I don't know who's afraid of me and I don't know why, and I don't know what I can do to have them not be afraid."

Hill approached the microphone during a public comment period holding a phone and wearing a headset.

"Hello, can you hear me?" he asked the council members. "Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to call in tonight."

Mayor Bill Baarsma twice warned Hill to drop the shtick and simply address the items on the agenda.

"I can barely hear you on this connection," Hill said, leading Baarsma to ask police to escort him out.

Hill said later he was trying to suggest that residents should be able to call in to give their comments.

Afterward, Hill claimed not to understand why he was tossed out.

"I was only hearing two-thirds on the connection," he said. "He wasn't telling me how I was out of order."

City Attorney Elizabeth Pauli said her office is examining options for dealing with Hill.

Two weeks ago, Hill removed his clothing at a City Council meeting and sat in the front row of the council chambers in only shorts or underpants and a T-shirt. He was sitting in a way that exposed himself to at least one council member on the dais, City Manager Eric Anderson said.

At this point, Pauli is not recommending pursuing an indecent exposure charge, though she said a report would be made to document Hill's behavior.

One option might be to charge Hill with violating a city ordinance that prohibits public disturbances, she said.

The city's legal staff has reviewed 20 tapes in which Hill participated in a City of Tacoma meeting, looking for a pattern of behavior, Pauli said, and expended a "significant amount" of legal research.

Last week, Hill used the public comment portion of the City Council meeting to deliver a speech laden with double entendres and euphemisms that council members described as "obscene."

City officials edited out Hill's speech from the replays of the meeting that air on TV Tacoma, programming sponsored by the city.

"It was just a little colorful," Hill said. "If they don't like color, I guess that's the basis."

Pauli said she plans to give the council a full report on the legal options later.

E-mail Ian Demsky at ian.demsky(at)thenewstribune.com. E-mail Jason Hagey at jason.hagey(at)thenewstribune.com

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)