There were lively public comments at the Englewood City Council meeting Monday night after two council members appeared on a YouTube show.
“First Amendment auditors” Chris Cordova and Regan Benson and others addressed the council during the meeting’s public comment session. They spoke about a show on YouTube called Frauditor Troll.
“Yeah, you do have a First Amendment right, but it’s really unprofessional for you to go up on a troll channel and talk trash about the people that come up to this podium and speak,” Cordova said.
District 3 Councilmember Joe Anderson and District 4 Councilmember Steve Ward made an appearance earlier this month on the show, which featured commentary on the behavior of Benson and Cordova, who don’t reside in Englewood and frequently speak at council meetings, and who produce videos in which they address city staff and officials.
In response to comments, Anderson explained that First Amendment auditors film people ranging from public officials to private citizens on grounds of testing the right to do so, and often post the videos on YouTube, where the videos can be monetized.
At-Large Councilmember Rita Russell provided a response to the comment thanking those who spoke and agreed with their concerns regarding the YouTube appearance.
Also in his response to the comments, Anderson said he felt it was a necessary way to “deal with” First Amendment auditors and said he “stands by” what he said on the show.
Credit: Photo by Elisabeth Slay
“How should cities deal with them?” Anderson said of First Amendment auditors. “That’s something cities have wrestled with around the metro area and so something I thought would be good is, they have this big YouTube audience. What if we got somebody with a big YouTube audience and just talked about how it’s impacting our cities. So that’s what Steve and I did.”
Russell made a “call for decorum” to attempt to end Anderson’s response, which was seconded by At-Large Councilmember Kim Wright and failed in a 4-3 vote.
Ward didn’t provide comment on the matter during the May 20 meeting.
Cordova has spoken many times during public comment to criticize city policies such as its Standard of Behavior policy, which applies in city facilities, including the library.
At prior meetings and during the May 20 meeting, Cordova stated that elements of this policy are unconstitutional and violate “freedom of expression,” including a ban on viewing pornography in the library.
In his public comment, Cordova also said he doesn’t want to keep coming back to Englewood but said he must due to many elements, including a recent administrative order drafted by City Manager Shawn Lewis.
“Effective immediately, no one may video record without the consent of all persons whose voice or image is recorded, within eight feet of entrances or inside the Englewood Civic Center, Pirates Cove, or other buildings owned and operated by the City of Englewood,” the order reads.
Cordova said this will cause him to return to the library for an “audit.”
Benson, who addressed the council via Zoom on May 20, also expressed her frustration with the video recording order, the council in general, the “culture of Englewood” and the appearance that Ward and Anderson made on Frauditor Troll.
“It’s been a standing tradition with the climate and culture of Englewood to ostracize, berate and attack anyone that dare speak before you and out of line with the majority council agenda which is seek and destroy,” Benson said. “New Englewood motto: ‘We don’t agree with you. You’re difficult because you’re right. You don’t give us acceptable cross streets, you gotta go,’ hence the ‘Steve and Joe Show.”’
Benson also frequents city council meetings and often advocates for the unhoused and addresses how the city and police handle homelessness.
She has a YouTube channel and currently faces charges of harassment for an incident in early March involving her and a security guard at the Englewood Public Library, an arrest affidavit shows.
Other speakers on May 20 were frustrated with the council’s recent consideration of changes to its public comment policy and proceedings, including limiting speakers’ time, eliminating online public comment, limiting the use of cameras and more.
After much discussion in an April meeting, the proposed changes failed in a 3-3 vote. No fixed date on placing the proposal back on the agenda has been set.
1964 NY Times VS Sullivan Supreme Court Ruling
This is Constitutional Case Law in this Country, this Nation is founded on this quote “Profound National Commitment to the principle that debate on Public Issues shall be Uninhibited, Robust and Wide Open”. And during this debate Vehement, Caustic, and sometimes Unplesantly Sharp Attacks from the Public on government and Public Officials. Not one Citizen is required to be Nice to them, it is our First Amendment Right to Criticize their Fascism and to hold them responsible. Our 1st Amendment Rights are Constitutionally Protected, Chris Cordoba, and Regan Benson both have 1st Amendment Rights you might not like what they say, but they have the right to say it. Now I want to point out to those of you who have shown up to City Council Meetings or plan on attending and speaking at the Englewood City Council Meeting, If Steve Ward and Joe Anderson don’t like what you have to say will you be the next one on Youtube being publicly humiliated by Steve Ward & Joe Anderson? When Steve Ward & Joe Anderson went on YouTube with this Frauditor Troll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_1UdVGellY&t=2895s which the only publicly available documents point to a husband and wife named Josh & Nicole along with the FrauditWrangler who has a criminal history, Steve and Joe crossed the line and need to recuse themselves as Mayor Pro Tem and City Council Members. I call for the immediate resignation of Steve Ward & Joe Anderson. We the Citizens of Englewood Colorado are tired of their hatred towards the Citizens of Englewood Colorado and their complete disregard for the Constitution of The United States Of America.