Geneva council member’s critics, supporters speak out over controversial Facebook post
A Geneva City Council meeting Monday played out a bit like a tennis match: Those who supported 4th Ward Alderwoman Martha Paschke and those who didn’t.
For almost an hour in a standing-room-only city council chambers, there was no middle ground.
Critics targeted Paschke last week after a post in private Facebook group post named 31 local businesses that support President-elect Donald Trump and stated they have “terrible politics.”
Paschke was an administrator of the Fox Valley Activists group, but said last week that she did not create the list and did not post it. Nonetheless, she said she received obscene and threatening messages and phone calls.
An attorney filed an ethics complaint against her with the city and Geneva businessman Tom Matson has called for an investigation and Paschke’s resignation.
“What’s happened recently is earth-shattering to us where we have a public representative who is using a list or being part of a group that’s producing a list that’s casting shame and shadow on conservative businesses,” Matson said.
“We can’t have this in our community,” he added. “It is our right to say what our beliefs are and not to have someone broadcast particular businesses and cause a pall over those businesses. If in fact what I know and have read is true, I am asking for Alderman Paschke to resign and to apologize to the public.”
Kylie Peters, a member of Fox Valley Activists, said an anonymous person posted the business list and noted that it did not call for a boycott of those businesses.
“The list could be used by conservatives as a list of people who they do want to patronize. And in fact, they have created PublicSquare, which is their own app to do that very thing,” Peters said. “If a business publicly makes a statement that is political, that is going to have consequences both positive and negative — and that is just the game that you play when you make a political statement.”
Peters said Fox Valley Activists is a private group with 1,800 members.
Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns read aloud a review from the city’s appointed ethics adviser, attorney Charles Radovich, about Naperville attorney Lynda Segneri’s ethics complaint against Paschke.
Radovich determined Segneri’s letter was not an ethics complaint because it did not allege a violation of either a prohibited political activity or gift ban activity.
“I am well aware that the impact of these past seven days will not soon vanish,” Burns said. “For there is no balm, supplement or magic elixir that will soothe the sting we’ve all experienced.”
Burns said the past seven days also could provide the impetus toward achieving a core principle of the city’s 2030 Strategic Plan, which is to cultivate a more welcoming community “where diversity of perspectives, thoughts and expressions are welcomed and discussed respectfully.”
“I know that our task ahead will not be easy,” Burns said. “Yet, as a resident of Geneva for more than 50 years, I am confident we will succeed because we’ve always succeeded in overcoming challenges.”