COMMENTARY
By JOE RODRIGUEZ
Joe Rodriguez is a San Benito native and former San Benito City Commissioner candidate.
Two critical core principles of the 1st Amendment enshrined in The Constitution are Freedom of Speech, and the right to petition the government. During the Vietnam War, 58,220 Americans died protecting those rights.
They were written in order to prevent governmental overreach and protect our personal liberties. They were also written to prevent those in power who wish to silence us when they do not approve of our written, oral comments, and or opinions.
In a free America, the government, including municipal government, cannot punish you for disagreeing with it. Freedom of Speech is a pillar of a free society and the lifeblood of a “free nation!”
It befuddles me that whoever is the admin managing/controlling the City of San Benito’s Facebook page can unilaterally decide to silence public comments to the City’s Facebook page at will.
The citizens/taxpayers of San Benito should never cede or shed their Constitutional Rights of “Freedom of Speech or Expression” because some anonymous City government-elected or appointed official says so!
As long as public comments don’t violate the “Fighting Words Doctrine,” San Benito citizens should be able to express their opinions regarding a public issue that affects them as citizens and/or taxpayers and also add some social value to the discussion at hand.
Freedom of speech grants people the right to say whatever they want, including commenting on a municipal government social media page. In a Democracy, the power belongs to, “We The People” and not an elected/appointed government official.
The Bill of Rights were written specifically to protect and guarantee the rights of the American people. The essence, in its purest and most concentrated form, of Freedom of Speech or speech on public issues, deserves the maximum protection in our American Democracy.
Unlike public schools where schools can regulate speech (Tinker vs Des Moines), city municipal governments cannot act as a sovereign, having supreme power or authority or being independent or self-governing.
Freedom of Speech ensures that citizens can express themselves and hold the government accountable. Failure to exercise our Freedom of Speech would result in tyranny where those in power would make the rules to suit only their narrative.
Here is a link to a previous Op-Ed in the San Benito News titled, “No comment: Making news for the wrong reason” which covered my thoughts on silencing the public. https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2024/08/02/no-comment-making-news-for-wrong-reasons/
The one who faced the most constant criticism was former City Manager Manuel de la Rosa. He was constantly and repeatedly criticized by some members of the City Commission and citizens who very frequently took potshots at him during the “Public Comments” segment of City Commission meetings. Did the City Commission stop them from making personal attacks? No, they didn’t because it suited their personal agenda.
Mainly and most important of all is that despite the harassment and criticism of former City Commissions and appointed officials like the city Manager by citizens or the news media, the City Commission never even considered censoring or preventing citizen comments on the city’s social media page.
They respected the First Amendment Freedom of Speech rights of citizens. I know because I have been engaged with the City Commission for 15 years.
The question that citizens keep asking me is, “Is it legal for the City of San Benito to censor or ban comments on social media like Facebook?”
Two cases come to mind: O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier and Lindke v. Freed. The answer is a resounding, no. In Lindke v. Freed, the United States Supreme Court (in 2024) explained that when a government official engages in state action on social media if (1) he or she had “actual authority to speak on behalf of the State on a particular matter,” and (2) if he or she “purported to exercise that authority in the relevant posts,” the entity cannot block comments. Bottom line, “The ruling clarifies that public officials can be held liable for blocking critics on social media.”
Lately, the City of San Benito has been on the receiving end of bad publicity. I have opined before that I am against recall elections unless there is an egregious act or violation.
Having said that, I do not wish to bring more bad publicity upon the City of San Benito, but I am not against partnering in a lawsuit against alleged censorship or violation of our First Amendment Right of Free Speech (ACLU of Texas).
Being an elected or appointed city official comes with the good and the bad when it comes to public comments. However, you cannot discriminate and legally cherry-pick the public comments and ban the comments you disagree with.
The only other city that I am aware of that blocks public comments on their Facebook page is the City of Rio Hondo. However, I don’t pay property taxes to the City of Rio Hondo.
The day the City of San Benito stops mailing me a property tax bill is the day I stop commenting on their FB page (maybe).
Blocking me from commenting on the City of San Benito Facebook page and violating my First Amendment right to Free Speech was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
The ball is in your court City Commission! Do the right (legal) thing!
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