Uber Activists Attend Portsmouth City Council Meeting

Tonight at 7:00pm EST, FreeUber.org activists will be attending Portsmouth’s city council meeting.  Some plan to testify against the anti-Uber transportation ordinance.  City council members have not yet agreed to call for a halt of the enforcement of said ordinance.  Tonight, we will see if the council upholds their taxi cartel protectionism.

As long as Uber drivers continue to be harassed, activists will continue to protest.  Shire Dude will be livestreaming this event.

This live event will feature multiple broadcast updates.  If the video below is not live, you can access archived footage on Shire Dude’s Bambuser account.

UPDATES:
Regarding the prohibitive transportation ordinance, the council voted (6 yes, 3 no) to move forward with the 3-part amendment that Uber requested.  The amendment was read by the City Attorney in this video.  During this council’s final session, on December 21st, each part of the amendment will be voted upon separately.

Councilor Lown spoke with both the police chief and with Uber’s attorney, but it was an activist’s testimony that sparked the councilor’s interest in the difference between background checks performed by Uber and by Portsmouth.  The town’s police department performs a vastly inferior check, but councilor Kennedy still argued that both checks were necessary.

Several activists spoke in favor of Uber (starting with Uber Grandma Stephanie Franz herself), including Free Uber founder Christopher David, who envisioned 10 Uber Grandmas taking the place of Franz.  “Walls may chase away law-abiding entrepreneurs, but they attract black market entrepreneurs,” said David, highlighting the market opportunity for a darkweb-style adaptation of ridesharing.

“You have to follow the rules!” said an exasperated Mayor Lister.  All three “no” votes (Lister, Morgan and Kennedy) will not be returning in 2016, which bodes well for the future of Portsmouth ridesharing.

If you believe that Portsmouth should follow the shining example set by Sarasota (which deregulated both Uber and taxis), I recommend contacting Eric Spear, Chris Dwyer, James Splaine and Bradley Lown.  They will be returning to city council in 2016.

MORE UPDATES:

There is now better video available of the Uber deliberations and the activists testimonies.