SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — The Spokane Valley City Council voted to prohibit the display of third-party publications in some city buildings during Tuesday's legislative session.
The motion passed by a vote of four-to-one. While supporters of the proposal noted that it would remove campaigning from city hall, council member Brandi Peetz voted against the resolution, believing it to be in violation of the First Amendment.
Now that this motion has passed, publications such as the Inlander, the Current and the Exchange will be prohibited in City Hall and the Police Department. The council passed an amended version of the motion that allowed the publications to still be placed at CenterPlace.
Councilmember Ben Wick, who owns the Current, recused himself from the discussion.
Council members in support of the proposal noted that the removal of third-party publications from these spaces was a matter of "campaigning" versus "politics."
editors note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that CenterPlace was included in the motion passed by the council. The council instead passed an amended version that excluded CenterPlace from the new rule.