Campbell mayor, councilwoman square off on social media pages

June 27, 2019 at 8:28p.m.

CAMPBELL

Councilwoman Juanita Rich, D-4th, called a special city council caucus to propose a policy governing how elected officials use social media.

Rich expressed concerns that the “Campbell Ohio Residents Forum for Political and Social Discussion,” which is managed by Mayor Nick Phillips, has become a “limited public forum” and that banning residents from the page may constitute a violation of their First Amendment rights.

“We need to nip it in the bud so our city isn’t liable for violating people’s First Amendment rights,” Rich said. “The mayor needs to shut down that page. He’s out of control on that site.”

Rich and Phillips will run against each other for mayor this November.

Rich, as well as a number of other residents who have been banned from the Facebook page, allege the mayor restricts anyone who criticizes him from participating. Many of the banned users have joined a secondary group, “Campbell Red Devil Chatter,” that is not maintained or moderated by city officials.

Phillips maintains that, as his page is privately run, he has the right to ban, and that he only bans people who have been abusive.

Phillips said that people have sent insulting and harassing private messages to his friends and family.

“I probably have 100 people blocked on that page who came in and had agendas. And so many of those accounts are fake accounts people use to get back into the group,” Phillips said. “The accounts I do have blocked attacked other people on my page. It’s my personal page and where I keep my residents informed of what’s going on in the city.”