Last week, in response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, NorCo Council member Kelly Keegan, who is also a nurse at the Easton Area School District, posted this remark on her Facebook page: "He was a monster and his wife and kids are better off without him as is the rest of the world. Hopefully her next partner will respect women and children." The backlash was swift, Many people have called for her resignation from County Council and ouster as a nurse. According to Lehigh Valley Live, she may have been placed on administrative leave by the district superintendent. At last night's meeting of County Council, 15 members of the public weighed in on what Keegan said. Keegan herself was participating by phone instead of being physically present, possibly out of concerns for her own personal security. A deputy Sheriff stood in the well, keeping an eye on the public. After all the talking was done, Council took no action against Keegan. No censure. No stripping of committee assignments. Not even a request for her to step down. They did adopt yet another one of their toothless resolutions, this time condemning political violence in the strongest possible terms. But that was it.
Of the 15 people who spoke, 3 of them actually supported Keegan. Gail Preunenger, a former Democratic member of the elections commission and regular donor to Tara Zrinski, called on council to "stop the erosion of freedom of speech" and allow Keegan to continue. An Easton High School student said that "everyone who wants Keegan to resign is biased."
The remaining speakers all wanted some kind of disciplinary action, although most of them acknowledged that Council has no authority to oust a member. That can only be done by the General Assembly's impeachment process, conviction of an infamous crime or at the ballot box.
Of the dozen speakers who were asking for some sort of discipline, I was most stuck by Christina Martinez. Actually, it was her 9 year old son whose words tell me we have a problem. When she told him she was coming to county council to urge action against Keegan, he expressed concern. "What if they shoot you?" he asked his mother.
A 9-year-old child should not have to worry that his mother is putting his life in danger when she petitions her government for the redress of grievances. The fact that he would think this is a sorry indictment of just how far we've fallen in our democratic form of government. Martinez said we are entitled to leaders who "lift us up." We've seen the opposite, and that is pretty much true of Keegan. But it's also true of Donald Trump.
After everyone had finished, Council President Lori Vargo Heffner read a statement:
I have received several messages from constituents this week with concerns about a social media post. I want to acknowledge reading all of them and thank our citizens for participating in county government with their correspondence. I want to address some of those concerns. I have consulted with our solicitor, and we have reviewed the Home Rule Charter, Administrative Code and our council code of conduct. While the county has a clear social media policy for employees, it does not apply to Council, as we are elected officials and not supervised by the Administration. We are a body comprised of 9 members who serve at the pleasure of those who elected us to fill these positions. We take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We are expected to collaborate, debate, discuss issues and oversee the county budget and create legislation. We are expected to follow our code of civility, to have these discussions with respect for everyone’s opinion. While some of us are subdued in our approach and others more vociferous, we all have a right to have our opinions heard in this room. What any of us think, feel, or believe outside of this room in the privacy of our own lives is not governed by this code. We as a body have limited authority to call for the removal of a commissioner, and according to the Charter, these conditions are not met by private actions on social media.
As President of Council, I was elected to ensure that this body runs smoothly, and I have made it my mission to ensure that each of us gets time and deference to express our views in meetings. I take the separation of powers seriously and defend this body’s right to independently make decisions. I serve all the citizens of the county and choose to do so with decorum and dignity, not dysregulation. I was elected to serve in this role and recognize that this means to represent all of you, respective of party, privilege, beliefs. I take the privilege of the public’s right to address us just as seriously and ask for your respect and tolerance of us while doing so. While I may disagree with my colleagues at times either professionally or personally, I will continue to honor the code and work of this body as a whole. I continue to be willing to hear you and to the best of my ability, address your concerns when possible. Thank you for hearing and supporting this Council’s work.
Vargo Heffner had a perfect opportunity to bury Keegan, who has actively undermined her and has done her best to turn other Democrats against her. Instead of seeking a censure, for which there is precedent, she chose to take the high road. And even John Goffredo, County Council's most vocal conservative, agreed with her. He said the people should decide whether they want Keegan to continue, not Council. But he added that if she wanted to resign, he'd be happy to accept it.
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