A majority of Royal Oak Commissioner Kim Gibbs' colleagues formally say she violated her oath of office and should leave city government.
Kim Gibbs: "I have the right to express freedom of speech." (Photo: Facebook)
Commissioners voted early Tuesday to reprimand her for protesting in Lansing two weeks ago against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders for social distancing and business shutdowns, Detroit Free Press coverage says.
The resolution to censure ... passed 5-2 near the end of a seven-hour "virtual meeting" held via the internet. It adjourned at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, after commissioners — sitting in their homes — heard about 90 minutes of recorded public comments from about 100 citizens.
The vast majority of citizens chastised Gibbs and supported censuring her. A few said she was exercising her rights to freedom of speech and assembly. ...
The censure wording said that Gibbs violated her oath of office and the governor's orders by failing to wear a mask and practice social distancing at the [April 15] rally. It cited "pictorial and video evidence."
Before the vote, Gibbs told fellow commissioners: "I had the right to express freedom of speech." On Facebook a day after the Lansing rally, she posted:
The rules of her [Whitmer's] lockdown have become arbitrary and capricious.
We must still be careful and make plans that protect the safety of everyone in Michigan, but I believe there is a way to slowly reopen parts of our economy safely and with surgical precision without resorting to punitive executive orders that takes a sledgehammer to the entire economy of the state. ...
Unfortunately, we have not seen or heard of any details or plans to keep us safe and save the jobs we will all need to survive.
She was elected in 2017.
