Mayor Eric Cunningham and Deputy Mayor Morrison opened the June 17 meeting with extended FYI remarks about political violence, threats and the deterioration of civil discourse in Bozeman and nationally.

Mayor’s remarks: Mayor Eric Cunningham described personal and community concerns about threats and public hostility toward elected officials. Cunningham said the normalization of dehumanizing language has “given a permission slip to bullies and those with mental illness to target elected officials.” He told the commission and public: “We need to lower the temperature. We need to resist the temptation to fall into behaviors that divide us, pull us apart, and pit citizens against citizens to score some cheap victory on social media.”

Deputy Mayor’s remarks: Deputy Mayor Morrison described national trends she said include mass shootings and politically motivated violence. In her remarks she said, “We are now a hundred and 68 days into 2025 and have had a 193 mass shootings.” Morrison said the speed of social media reaction often amplifies polarization and that elected officials must model civil disagreement to help change the broader tone.

Additional commissioners: Commissioner Fisher and other commissioners thanked the mayor and deputy mayor for bringing the topic forward. Fisher recalled service on the school board and said the community has had to add security at public meetings and schools because of the change in public threat levels.

Why it matters: Multiple elected and appointed officials said they have received threats and described incidents in which meetings were disrupted for safety. Several commissioners urged everyday citizens to call out harassment, maintain civil norms in person and online, and to consider the consequences of normalizing threats against public officials.

No formal action: The remarks were delivered as FYI comments and not as a commission motion or resolution. Commissioners asked staff and the public to treat the remarks as a call to civility and to consider local avenues to protect officials and civic discourse.