Editorial: Public officials can't separate 'private' comments
Traci O'Neal Ellis apologized this week.
You'll recall, she was the Elgin Area School District 46 board member who said on Facebook that the American flag represented "nothing more than toilet paper" to her.An apology was warranted for that appalling statement, made as a show of support for those in the NFL who are kneeling during the national anthem to peacefully protest how minorities are treated by law enforcement in America.
Unfortunately, her apology had a lot of qualifiers, including one that needs further review.
Ellis seems to think that because she made her statement on her personal Facebook page, it shouldn't be a factor in her public role as a school board member.
"I make no apologies for my comment about the flag. I made them as a private citizen, as a taxpayer in this country on my personal Facebook page on a matter of import in the current national discourse based upon my personal experiences," she said.
Indeed, she has that right. But when it comes to commenting on a public forum, there can be no distinction between public and private for elected officials, especially on social media, where every post, utterance and picture can be saved in a virtual locker forever.
When you run for office, your actions - both official and personal - are open for support or criticism. Voters in Ellis' district should and will take what she said into account when and if she seeks re-election in 2019. That will be the consequence of her free speech rights.
The voters are her bosses. In a private enterprise, a boss may fire someone for what they said on their social media accounts. That just happened Monday when a CBS employee was fired for saying she had no sympathy for the Las Vegas victims because they were country music fans who were probably Republican and gun supporters.
Should this one comment disqualify Ellis as a school board member? Only the electorate in District 46 can determine whether she should remain. We're pleased that citizens on both sides of this issue were able to respectfully discuss it at the District 46 board meeting this week.
"Frank expressions from black leaders about how they really feel and what they really think is important if we are going to move forward," said supporter Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford of Elgin.
"All of us value the freedom, individual rights and rule of law which we enjoy a citizens. Your disrespectful worlds only alienate potential allies," said Linda Rusenovich, also of Elgin, who espoused the other side of the controversy.
The point of the NFL players' protest is to spur discussion and change. On a local level, we urge all sides to work together to do the same. Ellis should recognize she is in a position to help do that, but she must use language that seeks to unify not divide.
We like Elgin resident Greg Addy's suggestions to host classes or forums about race relations: "Maybe we can come together and begin to talk to each other because that's the only way things are going to be done."