(CANON CITY, Colo.) — Cañon City Council member Emily Tracy faces calls for resignation and a possible censure after reposting a controversial article about conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Facebook.
During a city council meeting, Tracy did not apologize for sharing the article titled “Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning,” which described Kirk in negative terms and sparked public outrage.
“Councilwoman Tracy, I actually think that you should do us all a favor and resign,” said a concerned community member during the meeting.
The article Tracy reposted described Charlie Kirk as hateful, bigoted, transphobic, homophobic, and misogynistic, which upset many people throughout the city. Tracy stated she had adjusted her Facebook settings to be more private and expressed regret that the issue had escalated.
“I’m sorry that this has become the issue that it has become,” Tracy said, although she did not apologize for the content of the post itself.
Another council member, Amy Schmisseur, suggested a resolution to outline social media conduct for elected officials, emphasizing the need to distinguish between personal and public roles.
“Obviously freedom of speech is a thing, and people should be allowed to do what they want on their private time. But in a way, in avenues where we are identifying ourselves as publicly elected officials, I think we maybe just need to make that distinction a little bit clearer,” said Schmisseur.
The council agreed to add a vote on Tracy’s possible censure to next month’s meeting agenda.
Cañon City Council is encouraging residents with concerns about elected officials’ social media use to attend the next meeting and voice their opinions.
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