CAÑON CITY – In the end, there was little discussion and no vote about a proposed censure of Councilwoman Emily Tracy over a Facebook post she made in the wake of the shooting death of activist Charlie Kirk.
Instead, the council enacted a policy for council members that provides rules for how they use private social media accounts other than emails or text messaging.
The new policy, adopted Monday on a 6-0 vote, requires council members to refrain from identifying themselves as a Cañon City elected official or to include a “clear and conspicuous disclaimer in the same place where you identify yourself as an elected official that states: The views expressed on this account are my own and do not reflect the official position of the City of Cañon City.”
The code of conduct adopted by council in 2018 did not include social media guidance.
Tim Dennehy, the council member who proposed the censure, was absent, as was Tracy.
The outrage that erupted in mid-September in this small Arkansas River town over the post and the demands for retribution left bruises and continues to seethe on social media. Social media posts in recent weeks called out the council for stalling action against Tracy, and the mayor said he’d been harassed via text, email and phone calls.
Kirk, a firebrand commentator who co-founded the conservative youth political group Turning Point USA and rose to prominence preaching the gospel of free speech and open debate, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while answering audience questions at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
While his murder brought widespread condemnation, he was a controversial figure and some commentators suggested he should not be glorified in death. That raised a nationwide flurry of reports of people being condemned and threatened for their opinions about Kirk’s public statements.
Tracy got caught up in that when she posted, without comment, an opinion piece from The Nation entitled “Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning” to her personal Facebook page.
At Monday’s council meeting, Councilwoman Andrea Stein said Tracy had sent council members another post from her personal account on Sept. 10 — the day of the shooting — in which California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned “political violence in every form.” That post had not been mentioned in the previous debate over the appropriateness of the posts.
Tracy was absent Monday because her husband, who has been critically ill since August, was returned to a hospital in Lakewood, with an infection. She emailed her colleagues that she was mentally exhausted and unable to prepare for the meeting.
About a dozen angry residents called for her removal or resignation at a council meeting Sept. 15, and resident Dustin Trevathan started a change.org petition calling for her ouster. He gathered 901 signatures.
Trevathan did not immediately return phone and email messages for comment on this week’s council action.
At that September meeting, Mayor Preston Troutman told residents that the council did not have the power to remove a council member. That could only be done through a recall, and because Tracy’s term ends Dec. 31, there was not time for that.
He said the council could censure one of its members and asked if anyone wanted to make a motion for censure. Dennehy moved to have a censure resolution drafted and presented at the Oct. 6 meeting. Council delayed taking up the issue then because of a general government meeting scheduled for Oct. 8 where it was to discuss adopting a social media policy or change to the code of conduct.
The social media policy that came out of that meeting was adopted Monday.
No social media policy to violate
When the censure came up Monday, Mayor Pro Tem John Hamrick introduced it, pointing out that there was no social media policy in place when Tracy made the post.
However, he said the council code of conduct includes statements about not being divisive and “the posts that were made were certainly divisive.”
Five people, including Larry Swisher, spoke in support of Tracy during public comment. One man asked for her to remove herself from council.
“I am going to make a simple request that when it comes time to recognize what she has done for this community at the end of her term, that at least as much effort is put into that as apparently is being put into this censure resolution,” Swisher, who lives in Penrose, said during public comment Monday. He pointed to Tracy’s work on keeping Black Hills Energy rates lower and the Citizens Advisory Group working to get the former Cotter Uranium Mill Superfund site cleaned up.
About a half-dozen people lent their support to Tracy and First Amendment rights at the Oct. 6 meeting, too, where there were no public comments against her.
Before he called for a motion on the censure resolution, Troutman said he was disappointed in the community for the insults heaped upon him and his family while the issue dragged on.
Troutman, who is not running for re-election, said: “I’m done. I’ve got 78 days left.”
When he called for a motion, there was silence from the council. Then came polite applause from the audience. Then an angry man stormed out while yelling at the mayor.
“The most important thing for folks to remember at this time is that either we all have 1st Amendment rights to free speech or none of us has those rights,” Tracy said Tuesday in a brief email response to questions. “I’m glad that council decided not to pursue the censure resolution.”
Troutman said in a phone interview Tuesday that he was upset that not only he but his family members had been harassed and threatened recently over the perceived inaction.
“I know the people wanted anything from a hanging to a censure to a dismissal,” said Troutman, who has served three terms as mayor. “But we had no social media policy. Now we do.”
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