Brett Rotermund, serving on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, has resigned his seat in protest of the Assembly censuring Assemblywoman Barbara Haney, a fellow conservative, over having expressed her opinion.
Haney wrote an opinion column in the Fairbanks New Miner, and the editors added to the end of it that she serves on the Assembly. The reference had not been included by Haney, but a radical in the Fairbanks community lodged an ethics complaint about the reference, and during Thursday’s meeting, the Assembly majority censured Haney and fined her $1.
Rotermund resigned because he believes the Assembly has violated the Constitution. The leftists on the Assembly were saying that Assembly members have no right to any public communication without a disclaimer — email, campaign literature, op-eds included, but not, apparently, verbal communication, only written. Borough code they cited her under says “all communication,” which implies op-eds have to have a “paid for” disclaimer on them.
Sure fortunate and happily residing in Southern Southeast. You Northern folk are a confusing bunch!
A.m.Johnson-Ketchikan
I wish elected Republicans fought for us half as hard as Savannah Fletcher fights for her child mutilating pedosexual marxist fanbase.
Democrats, and their native-blood communists, don’t believe in any free speech that is antithetical to their own beliefs and ideological viewpoints.
Brett Rotermund is a hero for standing up to these totalitarian thugs.
It’s great to see “defenders of democracy” censoring others and shutting down free speech in the name of (let me check my notes)… democracy. Wonder if the Fairtown assembly is going to the same freedom of speech seminars as is the Anchorage assembly.
What, exactly, does he hope will come of his resignation? It will not change anything and may well cost Fairbanks a conservative voice.
Unless he’d just had enough there were other ways to protest.
Additionally, it’s not uncommon for papers running op eds from people of community stature to include said person’s position in that community. News-Miner isn’t out of bounds here.