ARCHER – Representatives from the NAACP asked for Archer Assistant City Manager John Mayberry to be removed from him position at the Dec. 8 commission meeting.
It was said that Mayberry made some posts to his personal Facebook page that certain citizens found racist and offensive.
Evelyn Foxx, President of the Alachua County Branch of the NAACP, said she was contacted by concerned citizens about two months ago, and that she has been having meetings with these citizens leading up to Monday night’s meeting.
Foxx said that she called the City of Archer for their issue to be put on the agenda for the meeting and she was denied. She said she felt she was received in a hostile way.
She said one of the biggest goals her group had that night, and continuing into the future is to have Mayberry removed from office.
“He is being paid by the taxpayers of Archer,” Foxx said.
Foxx said it was a white citizen who had originally invited the NAACP to Archer because they were upset about Mayberry’s Facebook posts.
“If you are a public figure, especially if you are being paid by the public, there are some things you can think all day long, but you should never say openly,” she added.
Archer City Manager Al Grieshaber said the city is an advocate of first amendment rights, and by firing Mayberry, the city would be treading on those rights.
“What [Foxx] asked for was for the city commission to commit an illegal act,” Grieshaber said. “She asked specifically for the city commission to terminate Mr. Mayberry. She is asking for something that she herself would not want.”
Grieshaber said what the group had asked for during the commission meeting would have denied Mayberry of due process. He said they are asking to take away Mayberry’s constitutional rights, something they would not want to have done to themselves.
The City of Archer, Grieshaber said, is wary of interfering with someone’s freedom of speech. He said it is important that all citizens, not just commissioners, have the freedom to express their opinions openly and freely.
He said the city is not taking Mayberry’s side or endorsing his views, but they support the first amendment and people’s right to express their opinions.
“I would never advise anyone to tread on anyone’s first amendment rights without a firm legal opinion that the city would not be violating his rights,” Grieshaber said.
He also said any repercussions or requests for Mayberry to take down any posts would have to come from the city attorney.
“Treat others as you would like them to treat you,” he said. “Let everyone express their opinion.”
Foxx said the group of citizens and the NAACP plan to follow up on this issue, but need to meet and decide where they will go from here.
“It’s not going away,” she said.
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