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Village resident asks legislature to remove and apologize for offensive Facebook posts by legislator
Summary
Karen Updegraf, a Village of Horseheads resident, told the Chemung County Legislature she was blocked on a legislator’s official Facebook page and asked that an offensive post be removed and constituents be unblocked and apologized to.
Karen Updegraf, a resident of the Village of Horseheads, used the public-comment period at the July 14 Chemung County Legislature meeting to ask the body to address conduct by a legislator on social media.
Updegraf told the legislature she was blocked from the official Chemung County Legislature Facebook page maintained by Legislator Brennan after criticizing an earlier post. She said she later reviewed a post on that official page from June 13 that she attributed to Legislator Brennan, and read the post in which, she said, the post stated: “They scream about fascism to cover over or to paper over daddy issues. Happy birthday, Donald Trump.”
Updegraf said she found the post “insensitive” and said it made many constituents, including immigrants and veterans, feel less safe. She said she attended a peaceful rally on June 13 and that the people at the rally were “neighbors and constituents.” She asked the legislature to remove the post from the official page, to unblock constituents who criticized the post, and to apologize.
Why it matters: the complaint raises questions about the use of a legislator’s official social-media account, constituent access to official channels and whether an elected official’s online remarks are appropriate for a government page.
Response and next steps recorded in the meeting The speaker offered to provide her materials to Legislator John Buren after the meeting. The public-comment period closed without a formal motion or legislative action on the complaint during the July 14 session; no apology or removal was recorded on the meeting record.
Ending: Updegraf said she would submit written comments to the clerk and asked the legislature to address the matter outside the public-comment period.
