The Pioneer Press’ Jessica Fleming noted on Twitter how she was watching the most recent Lakeville City Council meeting where Councilmember Matt Little (interviewed by Lazy Lightning here), “was admonished by another member for offering opinions on Twitter.” Councilmember Little replied (via Twitter) how he felt Councilmember Colleen LaBeau should have, “the courage to identify who you’re talking abt (sic),” when they decide to, “take someone on.”
Intrigued as to what Councilmember LaBeau had to say about Councilmember Little’s use of social media, the most recent council meeting was viewed and this is what Councilmember LaBeau had to say during the final few minutes of the meeting (this is more or less word for word however you can listen to an audio clip of the original video feed here [1.40MB file]):
Last but not least I would just like to say that umm as a council here obviously we’re a little bit broken on a few issues right now and I just think that umm as fellow councilpeople that we need to keep comments out of the social media that don’t align with what umm another councilmember actually said and I have had many people bring it to my attention that the detriment they feel it is and umm I would hope that for the betterment of the community that we could all agree as a council–we’re missing two but maybe when they come back–that social media probably isn’t the place to iron that out umm and I would just hope that we could all respect that out of each other.
Do you believe councilmembers should have to keep their own personal comments to themselves or should they be permitted to speak openly and as they see fit? With other recent and very similar hoopla coming out of Farmington’s ISD 192 over Timothy Burke’s use of social media, do you think that there is some sort of difference between what is said in general conversation vs what is said on social media? Do you feel that Councilmember Little’s comments online are a ‘detriment’ and that by curtailing his, and the other councilmembers’, freedom of speech that it would be for the ‘betterment’ of Lakeville’s community? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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July 7th, 2011 at 7:07 am
I think we should all think about using the word “hate” so freely. It helps fuel the incendiary political environment that leads to opposing parties being unable to work together toward solutions. Three of the five articles above are about someone hating someone or something. There is enough hate in the world without mongering it on fairly insignificant issues.
July 7th, 2011 at 7:56 am
(tsk, tsk, tsk, Bill, you’ve been chastised!)
On topic: It seems to me elected officials, or anyone representing a group of people, have a responsibility to self-edit their personal thoughts. Petty comments on social media do little to further the common good or your special interest, which is what people representing a group are there for. And personal slams are simply childish. So, even though freedom of speech allows us to freely comment, if your main purpose is to reach a position favorable to the group you represent don’t you think a smart, adult approach will achieve your goal quicker and with more favorable results? Alienating those with whom you must eventually reach agreement beneficial to your tribe seems just plain dumb, short-sighted, and counter productive. Someone should be the adult in the room.
July 7th, 2011 at 7:59 am
I have no idea what Little said that upset her, but I think there’s a balance with social media that’s no different than the balance of what to say to a friend versus what to keep private. In general I’d rather see elected officials be more open than not, including on Twitter.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:02 am
As I told Jeanne privately, I checked both the Lakeville category and the main page (I went back one page for the 5th post she referred to) and don’t have any idea what she’s talking about:
— Front Page —
1. Vacation Length Poll
2. Porter Creek Giveaway
3. Chili Chocolate
4. Should BV Spend $100k on a Skate Park
5. LaBeau Hates Freedom of Speech
— Lakeville Category —
1. Little’s Police Donation: Posturing or Poster Child?
2. Man Threatens Driver With Uzi in Lakeville
3. Lakeville Citizens Must Raise Senior Center Funds?
4. Public Spending: Lakeville Mayor Doesn’t Get It?
5. LaBeau Hates Freedom of Speech
—
But as I told her in the same e-mail, she’s free to exercise her freedom of speech as long as it falls within what I deem acceptable through my interpretation of my own acceptable posting policy. You know, unlike what Councilmember LaBeau wants to do.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:09 am
Bill,
She is talking about the linked articles within your post.
1. ISD 192 School Board Hates Twittering Members
2. Farmington’s Pritzlaff, Ristow Campaign at Meeting?
3. Interview: Lakeville City Councilmember Matt Little
4. Lakeville Mayor Holly Dahl Hates the Limelight?
5. Dan Gustafson Claims Mary Sherry Hates Children?
July 7th, 2011 at 8:12 am
Also, I am not saying I agree with Jeanne’s “Let us all play nice boys and girls” principle, but merely clarifying where she got her information.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:16 am
Wow; lefty is useful for once! Yup, those are automatically chosen by the system and ranked based on some sort of matching algorithm. That’s like saying when you search for “nookie supreme” on Google that Google shouldn’t return sex links with your search because you don’t like it.
*shrug*, now it’s really a non-issue.
July 7th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Yeah, I figured the word “hate” was matching that up for you.
*note to self: Google nookie supreme when you get home from work tonight.
July 7th, 2011 at 9:27 am
I don’t see any reason why one council member should bet getting bent out of shape because another council member posted something on the twitter. I assume since we don’t know what it was, it was nothing of any value. I don’t find it odd that a city council member will struggle with finding the right words. After all, most of them are just normal people and don’t speak particularly well in public.
I would have much rather seen Colleen LaBeau call out the specific tweet, and tweeter, and approach things head on. I don’t know that it is very fair for council members to poke at other council members under the table. That’s what non-council members do. Council members have phone numbers, they sit in meetings, they have many opportunities to work over any disagreements without the need to take pot shots at each other in the media. If you believe that Colleen is acting like a punk, call her out or get over it and move on. I don’t believe we should be limiting the speech of anyone, but I do think our politicians need to find a way to work together and move this city, county, state, country forward instead of stuck in neutral.
July 7th, 2011 at 9:30 am
Mikeh,
I’m guessing it was Facebook that she was referring to as his Twitter posts really don’t say much. Here’s some of his recent FB posts:
July 7th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Hm. Makes me wonder if an intern (or his kid) is handling his social media.
REAL communication takes skill and use of social rules of courtesy, which is why, say, we don’t send Tracy Morgan to act as our ambassador in China.
Just because we CAN say something about somebody, doesn’t mean that we SHOULD say something about somebody, particularly if there is a goal that we need to achieve with that same person.
I would defend freedom of speech with my last breath. It is an IMMENSE gift, an inalienable right, and a cornerstone in our democracy. It’s too bad there isn’t mention of Freedom of Silence in our Constitution. Because some people really need to employ it from time to time.
July 7th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Little seems like he does not like the perception that he was “called out” even though he was not named in a meeting that anyone could see.
Rather than pick up the phone and contact the person who “offended” him, he tweeted his issue for anyone to see.
Sounds like two people are playing the same game to me. Actually, it sounds like something children would do.
July 7th, 2011 at 11:00 am
What’s that saying? “Think before you speak”. It needs to be think before you speak, tweet, facebook etc. In today’s media you can’t take things back. My company has a social media policy. I would think if the City of Lakeville has a social media policy it should apply to council members as well.
July 7th, 2011 at 11:34 am
I ummm think that as whole any ummm public figure; athlete, politician, jounalist, etc. ummm should leave the office behind when they ummm tweet unless they can handle saying it ummm out loud in situations.
Seriously though, I follow Chris “Warcraft” Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) because he doesn’t hide behind twitter, he uses it to broadcast opinions already said in interviews or within the locker room. Plus his random thoughts/hash tags are hilarious to me.
July 7th, 2011 at 11:50 am
I think he can say what he wants, as long as he is keeping it accurate. I think he should expect to live with the consequences of what he says though. The idea that he can be this champion of reform or conflict or whatever and nobody will get bent out of shape is sort of sheltered.
At the same time, more honesty and more direct conversations are needed and may be healthy in the long run.
I think our state legislators are on to something. The best way to eliminate all the non essential things our govt does is to just shut the whole thing down and let a judge figure it out. I feel bad for the people out of work, and horrible for the people who are missing badly needed state aid, but its also amazing that 95% or more of the state is running just fine with the govt shut down.
July 7th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Actually, no, Chad, the state won’t run well for long. When the buses and lightrail start shutting down, EVERYBODY is going to start hurting, employers, employees, students, everybody.
I think people need to read their history. When the rich get richer and the poor have to fend for themselves, really bad things happen. It can happen here just like anywhere else.
I do agree that we need more honesty, but telling tales and talking behind other people’s backs isn’t honesty. And I think ALL the legislators need to remember that.
July 8th, 2011 at 8:23 am
Really?
How about the “poor” work harder and get a better fucking job and not depend on the “rich” to pay their fucking way? I work hard, have a job I am happy with and I can “fend for myself”. Why should I have to pay for somebody else?
To be clear, I am not making this statement in support of the Minnesota legislators nor in deference to the Governor (though I know it sounds like it). I am making this statement because I would like Michele to explain why people with a few dollars should spend these dollars on somebody who would rather sit on their couch than work.
July 8th, 2011 at 8:28 am
I went to Fasika in St. Paul with a coworker for lunch. I took the bus back to work (94 bus I believe) and while sitting in the back I had the pleasure of overhearing (because they weren’t being quiet about it at all) a conversation between two people discussing their options for public benefits once the state shut down.
Near the end of the trip they began discussing who they planned to rob in order to make up for the benefits they felt they were expecting to lose due to the shutdown.
—
Now, aside from the fact that I don’t believe in any public assistance at all, as I have somehow been able to support myself and my family adequately, I have to say that if they spent the same amount of time researching jobs as they did how to get freebies from churches, other non-profits, the government, and by criminal means they’d probably me making more than they’d require to have their family supported.
Clearly that’s not as much fun however.
July 8th, 2011 at 8:40 am
I just noticed that Michele typed her post at 11:10 at night. I am going to give her the benefit of doubt and assume she was drunk.
July 8th, 2011 at 9:24 am
I am a casual twitter user (@MNDem) and 40. But my teenage kids and the kids I work with at church are way tied into social media. Ratlaff-Lebeau is about 50 and Matt Little is about 25. This might be a generational thing. Things change, and people need to keep up, especially politicians. There are far fewer reporters out there, Twitter and the like are the new notification system.
July 8th, 2011 at 10:42 am
I really get tired of people kicking the poor around. Everyone makes the assumption that because you find a pair of idiots talking on a bus that everyone is like that pair of idiots.
The various federal, state, county, whatever assistance programs out there do make a difference in the lives of people that most of us would agree with. A side affect of having these assistance programs is that it also makes a difference in the lives of people that many of us would prefer they don’t.
Along with the opportunity that exists in our society there are costs. You can’t have one without the other.
July 8th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Mikeh, just to be clear I was specifically talking about those two individuals, not “The Poor”. They were both able bodied individuals quite capable of doing something other than leading a life of crime.
As for “The Poor” in general, my statement that I do not support public assistance of that kind stands and that certainly doesn’t mean I’m kicking them around.
July 8th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Little shouldn’t have tweeted his complaint about LaBeau — he should have talked to her one-on-one.
LaBeau shouldn’t have complained about Little as a public statement — she should have talked to him one-on-one. (It’s unfair to say she “hates freedom of speech” based on her statement — she didn’t question Little’s right to express himself through social media, she questioned the appropriateness of social media as forum for resolving conflicts between Council members.)
The voters have been rewarding and electing politicians who are pugnacious and confrontational and punishing those who are polite and can work with diverse interests to get things done for the common good. An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.
July 8th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Apparently the quotes I provided above were not the ones which LaBeau took offense to as those were from his private FB page (my bad). It was what was posted on his Little of Lakeville FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-for-Lakeville/301011143645
Here are some of his comments there:
July 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Mikeh,
Which do you think most of us would agree with? Here are a few I don’t.
Assisting mothers that don’t have a job but were able bodied enough to get pregnant (i.e. all of them).
Assisting people who have lived here for less than a year.
Assisting pretty much anybody who is able bodied and could have a job.
Giving food stamps to people who trade them at 50 cents on the dollar for alcohol and cigarettes.
Giving food stamps to people who get food with them. If you can make it to the grocery store, you can make it to work.
It is easy to point out “disabled” people. I am already paying for a lot them with this thing called health insurance.
There is probably room in my budget for kids under 18 who don’t have parents, so I will give you that one.
I think I heard recently that there is a backlash in some state because they are thinking about drug testing welfare recipients prior to paying them. That says a whole lot about the state of our society.
July 8th, 2011 at 11:14 am
I’m reasonably confident that everyone reading this has received government asssistance in some form or another, either as a direct or indirect subsidy, at some point in their lives if not currently. It’s just a question of what form it takes and how it is dispensed.
July 8th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Tim, it’s what you do with it that counts.
July 8th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Those quotes seem pretty tame to me, and are the same sort of thing I could see Mr Little saying to a local reporter, or to anyone in a casual conversation at a local event of some sort (Chamber event, etc.).
Maybe the other council members are just jealous that Mr Little seems to have learned how to use Social Media and they haven’t.
July 15th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
[...] Labeau has taken issue with Little’s use of social media. Both Lazy Lightning and Patch.com have picked up the [...]
July 19th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
From: http://lakeville.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-matt-littles-comments-add-little
November 17th, 2011 at 9:54 am
From: http://www.thisweeklive.com/2011/11/17/lakeville-city-council-debates-social-media-usage/
I don’t see the benefit of individuals on city councils who cannot grasp the desire of other councilmembers to communicate with their constituents in the ways the public prefers.
Luddite councilmembers can bitch and moan all they like about what Little says on social media but the simple fact of the matter is that he’s doing exactly what he said he was going to do.
November 17th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Does LaBeau go by the name “Twoboot” online???
If you don’t “see the benefit of Twitter”, there are probably 5,000,000 articles that can explain it. Even the City of Burnsville is smart enough to have figured out the value (and, yeah, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit).
LaBeau is probably one of those sheeple that sits in traffic for 90 minutes after a 100-degree day causes a road buckle and thinks “boy, I wish there were some way I could have known to take an alternate route!” (psst…Colleen….this is one example of a bazillion of ‘who’s gaining from it’)
November 17th, 2011 at 10:30 am
MSPD, I thought the same thing re: Burnsville. It’s not a place where online engagement is shunned, and there’s something to be said for that.
November 25th, 2011 at 9:02 am
[...] City Council regarding Little’s use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, including his decision to actively post messages to these networks during council meetings. As such the Lakeville City Council has met to decide whether this needs to cease mainly because at [...]
January 25th, 2012 at 10:00 am
[...] Lakeville’s LaBeau Hates Freedom of Speech? [...]