Apparently the mayor of Prairie Village, Laura Wassmer, wants to put restrictions on council members posting on line or speaking to the press.
Here is part of the article:
Wassmer sent the following message to members of the city council Monday after councilwoman Jori Nelson posted a message about the Village Square community input sessions on the website NextDoor, and councilwoman Sheila Myers asked the Shawnee Mission Post to publish a similar statement:
Council, please remember that you collectively represent a governing body of twelve members. While you are entitled to your own opinion, it is important that communication involving City related events, projects, etc. come from the CITY, and not from individual council members. While you are welcome to post information on your own FB pages that are obviously your own opinions, please refrain from discussing your views individually with the media or posting on neighborhood chat forums/online neighborhood websites. All media requests for information should be forwarded to either myself or [City Administrator] Wes [Jordan] in the future. Thank you for your cooperation. LauraThat message struck at least four members of the council as crossing an important line. As elected officials, one said, they should have the ability to express their opinions on any issue without fear of reprisal, and it was not appropriate for Wassmer to ask them to yield their ability to communicate with constituents.
If I lived in PV I'd be starting a recall petition for the mayor. She took an oath of office to support and defend both the state constitution and the federal constitution. Council members do NOT give up their right to free speech by virtue of their position. Also, a council member's opinion of city projects is important to the citizens. They want to know what the council member thinks.
Mayor Wassmer, it is my opinion you owe your council a big apology.
