Ellsworth won’t hold another city council election until next November, but that hasn’t stopped perennial candidate and conservative activist John Linnehan from making endorsements at the group’s meetings.
But city council members want him to stop, saying that his ‘politicking’ during the citizen’s comments portion of their meetings has nothing to do with their official business and runs afoul of laws aimed at preventing campaigning at polling places.
Linnehan insisted at Monday’s meeting that he has a constitutional right to free speech and that the council cannot infringe on those rights. But councilors said if Linnehan won’t stop criticizing them by name and advocating for replacing them at the ballot box, the city may do away with citizen’s comments on its meeting agendas altogether.
“I think we’ll be taking this [item] off the agenda from now on,” Michelle Beal, the council chair, told City Manager Charlie Pearce at Monday’s meeting.
She later added that the city has not made a decision to remove citizen’s comments from meeting agendas, but it will explore that option and consult with its attorney.
Beal said allowing political speeches and endorsements at council meetings would open the door to derailing the group from city business. Linnehan’s continued statements about who should and should not be elected to the council has nothing to do with city business, she said.
“It’s what we do,” she said of conducting city business at meetings. “It’s what we were elected to do.”
Councilor Steve O’Halloran said that eliminating citizen’s comments would prevent other residents from speaking about city business that isn’t on the meeting agenda.
“Let’s not overreact,” O’Halloran said. “I would hate to block out the good, just to block out one.”
The council and Linnehan, who consistently has run for local or state office for more than 20 years, got into a terse exchange over the issue in October, before the most recent election. Linnehan argues his constitutional rights to freedom of speech trump any restrictions the city might put in place, and that he can call for changes on the council if he wants to.
“My constitutional political speech rights have been violated for the last two monthly council meetings,” Linnehan told the council Monday. “I simply want that to stop starting tonight and going forward.”
Linnehan said voters should stop voting on council candidates based on ‘popularity’ and specifically named three councilors who he thinks should be replaced — Beal, Tammy Mote and Jon Stein.
Stein and other councilors interjected, telling Linnehan that he needed to stop making endorsements.
“This isn’t OK,” Councilor Nancy Smith said. “This is politicking. It is not policy conversation. It is not appropriate.”
Linnehan wound up his comments a few moments later, but asked a question as he finished.
“You do understand you are violating my constitutional rights?” he said. “My attorney asked me to ask you that.”
Beal responded by saying the city is not infringing on his rights, but declined to engage with him further.
