In the new reality of meeting via Zoom, the video-conferencing software now universally employed to connect remote users to various gatherings—including municipal council meetings—the basic rule would seem to be self-evident: to participate, turn on your camera.
Yet by the Voice’s estimate, upon his return to council last Monday, after the second of two leaves of absence during 2020, Ward 2 Councillor Ron Kore spent nearly three-quarters of the one hour and 46 minute meeting with his camera turned off. The in-person equivalent would be ducking under the council horseshoe, or leaving council chambers for extended periods without explanation.
Asked whether Kore’s invisibility posed a procedural issue, Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato told the Voice that it came down to ensuring that a quorum is maintained.
“Members of Council are asked to keep their cameras active during the meetings,” said Bozzato. “On the 14th, it was Councillor Kore’s first meeting following a leave and he may not have recalled the meeting protocols. I will be messaging him to request that the camera be enabled going forward so that I can be certain that a quorum is present at all times.”
Kore did not respond to a Voice request for comment asking why he had not kept his camera on.
