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Council adopts rule limiting signs in chambers amid tensions between mayor and a councilor
Summary
Pueblo City Council on March 24 adopted a resolution restricting signs and posters in council chambers and debated internal communications after Mayor Graham accused a councilor of sending harassing emails to her staff.
Pueblo City Council on Monday adopted a resolution restricting the display of signs and posters in council chambers, a measure brought forward at the request of council members and approved 5-2.
The measure (agenda item M-8) establishes a policy limiting signs or posters within council chambers; a staff report described the change as a clarification of decorum that city council requested. The resolution passed following a brief staff presentation and a motion to approve.
The vote occurred amid a broader and more heated exchange between Mayor Graham and Councilor Roger Gomez. In mayoral remarks during the meeting the mayor said she had received multiple "wildly disrespectful" emails from Councilor Gomez that were addressed to her staff and that city attorneys were being asked to draft a formal workplace conduct policy. "To put an email [a derogatory comment] to my city staff is not tolerable, and I'm not going to stand for it," Mayor Graham told the council.
Several councilors responded. Councilor Sarah Martinez called for a formal censure of Councilor Gomez, saying the emails were "gross, belittling, condescending, and mean" and not aligned with the council's stated core values of respect and professionalism. Councilor Gomez disputed the characterization and said he was frustrated by what he described as lack of access to department heads and staff responses.
Council members discussed the need for clearer professional conduct and communication policies between elected officials and city employees; the mayor said she had asked the city attorney to draft a memo and policy for council conduct and professional workplace standards.
Outcome: Resolution restricting signs and posters in chambers (M-8) — Motion to approve; Outcome: approved 5-2. No formal censure motion was adopted at the meeting; Councilor Martinez said she would seek a formal censure later.
What this means: The sign policy itself governs behavior in the physical council chambers. The larger dispute resolved at the dais was left for potential further procedural action: the mayor asked the city attorney to draft formal guidance on council communications with city staff and a spokesperson said staff would prepare a draft professional workplace conduct policy for future council consideration.
