Westminster Councilor Bruce Baker said he was trying to express disappointment with staff information in June when he accused city staff of lying. His council colleagues voted to censure him Aug. 28.

Scott Taylor

City Councilor Obi Ezeadi was among councilors voting to censure colleauge Bruce Baker for his June 24 comments.

Scott Taylor

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Westminster City Council members voted to censure one of their colleagues, City Councilor Bruce Baker, for calling a leading city official a liar at a recent meeting.

“I want every single employee in the city to understand that Councilor Baker was wrong, that free speech in the constitution does not cover you from defamation,” Councilor Obi Ezeadi said during proceedings on Aug. 28. “That is not a protected right. You cannot just say anything you want, whenever you want with no consequence.”

The council voted 6-1 to censure the councilor, with Baker casting the sole dissenting vote. A censure is a public reprimand and formal disapproval of a councilor's actions but does not have any legal effect or penalties.

At issue were Baker's comments about City Manager Mark Freitag at meeting in June. He had been given a map that was mislabeled, but part of the materials for consideration in creating a water treatment facility. Baker accused Freitag of "lying" as part of a coverup.

Baker made a brief statement during proceedings.

“A speaker can speak it, but a listener will hear what they want to hear and not exactly what the speaker meant,” Baker said. “When that happens, you have to ask the speaker what he meant and I have been asked to say what I meant.”

He added that he wanted to express “extraordinary disappointment” after he received wrong information from the city staff. 

“But other listeners did not hear it that way,” Baker said.

Baker's colleagues didn't see Baker's statement as sufficient.

“That was definitely not an apology,” Councilor Sarah Nurmella said. “I think we all heard what was an impactful accusation to City Manager Freitag. And I think it goes beyond the city manager. It goes beyond, to all on the staff who feel they are not allowed to make a mistake in any information they provide. That's a feeling of living on the edge and I don't want our staff to feel that way, afraid to pass on information.”

It's not the first time Baker's remarks have drawn controversy to the City Council chambers. Councilors were considering a resolution in Dec. 2016 saying the city welcomes residents of all cultures and identities regardless of race, immigration status, sexual orientation or other characteristics. The council went on to approve the resolution 6-1, with Baker the lone dissenting vote.

“So I ask my colleagues, if you would never be welcoming to rapists, murderers or bank robbers, why would you be welcoming to people unlawfully present in the United States?” he said at that meeting.

That remark drew more than 150 people to the council chambers Jan. 24, 2017 who argued that he was comparing undocumented immigrants to criminals.

Mislabeled map

At the council's June 24 meeting, Baker took issue with a label on a map for a new water treatment facility. Councilors ultimately decided to pursue eminent domain and take the property that abuts the Dry Creek Open Space by condemnation. That process that lets the city pay a price determined by an assessor for privately owned land.

Baker claimed Freitag referred to a map that mislabeled Westminster's Dry Creek Open Space as Westcliff Park and then argued the mislabeled map was evidence of dishonesty from city staff, especially Freitag.

“I consider misinformation prepared by and reported to council from experienced, competent authoritative individuals as lying,” Baker said at the July 24 meeting.

Baker said he challenged Freitag in person about the information, saying it was a lie.

“The response, in an email dated March 23 is like a mini-version of Richard Nixon's Watergate coverup,” Baker said at the July 24 meeting.

Councilor Obi Ezeadi called Baker out at that June meeting.

“The staff is not disingenuous, they do not promote disinformation and the city manager is not a liar,” Ezeadi said.

Mayor Pro Tem Dave DeMott and Councilor Lindsey Emmons also responded. DeMott said the mislabeled map confused him, but said it was a mistake and not a lie.

“I don't think any of what you are saying is right, you are taking things and facts and pieces and putting your own perspective on it and calling it misinformation or maliciously lying,” DeMott said. “That's not always the case. There are six other people up here who did not have the same takeaway that you did. Does that mean that we are ignorant?”

Other councilors waited to respond until later meetings. Speaking at the Aug. 14 meeting, Councilor Rich Seymour said he was taken aback at Baker's July 24 comments and needed time to think before responding.

“Whether I was stunned or callous, I don't know,” Seymour said. “But I want to make a public apology to our city manager for not acting on my character, so my apologies.”

Mayor Nancy McNally said she was surprised by Baker's comments.

“Sometimes I get home afterward and I go, 'What just happened?'“ McNally said. “Especially when we are the employers of three members that come to these meetings and one of them is called a liar, it just is not correct. City Manager Freitag, I apologize for not having the wits to say something when I normally would have ranted and raved, but that probably wouldn't have been appropriate either. But it was wrong in the manner it was done and I apologize that I did not say something.”

Censure season

Colorado has seen a number of high-profile disciplinary actions this summer that resulted in censure. Two Douglas County Commissioners voted to censure Commissioner Lora Thomas Aug. 22 for her comments regarding spending by the volunteer board Douglas County Cultural Council. The Dacono City Council censured Mayor Pro Tem Kathryn Wittman and Councilor Danny Long Aug. 18 for actions prior to the firing of City Manager A.J. Eukert.

And Northglenn City Council censured Councilors Nick Walker and Tim Long in July after the two excused themselves and left the dias as the mayor was reading a proclamation declaring June Pride Month.