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On June 10, 2019, City Council voted to establish a Code of Conduct, confirming Mayor Dee Margo as “the designated representative of the Council to present and speak on the official city position.”
The Code further stipulates that City Representatives and other City officials “must support and advocate the official City position on an issue, not a personal viewpoint.”
When assuming office, City Representatives must sign this document which, in our view, includes blatant violations of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
APRIL FOOLS’ DAY POWER GRAB
Fast forward to this past April 1, when Reps. Art Fierro and Deanna Maldonado-Rocha put up agenda item 31, directing the City Manager and City Attorney “to draft a resolution establishing the City’s Institutional Spokesperson Roles for citywide policy and administrative matters.”
This one slipped past our local media, probably because the language of the proposal conceals its real intent. Fully understanding the item requires watching the video of the 68-minute discussion starting at the 5:06 mark.
Clearly, the aim of the proposed resolution is to empower the Mayor to be the sole spokesman for the City on “high-level” or “emergency” issues, with staff determining which issues meet that threshold.
Fierro insisted this “has nothing to do with muzzling” members of City Council, but rather is meant to establish “guardrails” to prevent the spread of misinformation.
Mayor Johnson added that the public and media deserve the “best information” during moments of crisis and that he alone should be the one to provide that information in order to prevent confusion.
Yet according to City Attorney Nieman, no other Texas city has such a policy: “In speaking with my colleagues across the state, none of the cities that have a city manager form of government have anything like this.”
She admitted the proposed resolution would “regulate speech” but then claimed it will not “muzzle speech.”
Rep. Canales pointed out the Code of Conduct already establishes the Mayor as the official City spokesman, though it permits City reps to express their personal opinions.
Rep. Acevedo was concerned the resolution might curtail his First Amendment right to communicate whatever he pleases to his constituents.
The one public speaker, Patricia Osmond, excoriated City Council: “We do not vote for each and every one of you so you can be in lockstep with the Mayor.”
In the end, City Council voted 6-2 in support of the agenda item, with Canales and Acevedo dissenting.
The bottom line is this: If the media wish to contact the Mayor during a crisis, they are free to do so, and if they wish to contact a City Council Representative to obtain an alternate opinion, they should be free to do so as well.
Our City Council has no business restricting the speech of City Council representatives for any reason whatsoever. Democracy can be chaotic and that is the price of government by consensus.
We did not appoint a king to rule El Paso and exclusively represent its policies and actions. All elected representatives and even staffers should have the right to express their opinions.
Restricting the speech of elected representatives is a step toward monarchy, period, and no politician will convince us otherwise!
When this abomination returns to City Council for a final vote, we will oppose it with every ounce of our energy.
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