08/20/2025
Thursday afternoon edit:
I thought I was going to be able to leave comments open on this one, as the conversation has been generally respectful. Unfortunately, an extreme partisan group posted an article stating that I did not have the right to share information about the attacks against me. The author of the article stated that by telling people the truth about what was happening, I was emotionally manipulating them. I'm still unsure if it's all victims (or just elected officials) who should be shamed for talking about what happened to them. To be clear, the article did not say anything about how attacking people is bad. There was no call for civility. The article only stirred up hatred against me for coming out about my experience, and tried to make it sound like I was crazy and it was all just in my head, even though I have black and white proof. Yikes.
Y'all, they still can't actually come up with anything I've done to justify the hate. They tried lying and making stuff up. And now the only thing they could come up with against me is that I have a "victim mentality" and I'm "emotionally manipulating" people by telling them that I'm a victim. 🤦🏼♀️
Unfortunately, this article has kicked off another round of attacks (sorry for emotionally abusing you all by telling you that). And the personal attacks on this thread are getting a little out of hand, so I'm closing comments.
To those keeping it civil, thank you. To those allowing hate and emotion to guide your words, let's talk in person. I promise if you know the truth about me, and actually talk to me with an open mind, you won't feel the need to be so mean.
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It's not every day you wake up to discover that your Facebook post made the front cover of the newspaper!
The first thing I noticed this morning was another 1-star Google review of my business from a local guy who has never set foot in my store (thank you Patrick Fitzsimmons). Then the texts started rolling in asking if I'd seen the article.
It's not a bad article, it basically covers the gist of what happened. But it mentioned my store by name, which seems to have restarted the attacks. People like Mr. Fitzsimmons woke up, read an article about mural supporters using bad Google reviews as a means of attacking and harassing the local small businesses of council members, and thought "that's a fantastic idea".
Friends, there is something very, very wrong here. I need to get a few things out, so if you're invested in the mural drama, read on.
Now, to be honest, I don't blame the 1-star-review attackers as much as I blame the people who have stirred them up so much that they think this is acceptable behavior- because they were led to believe the targets deserve it. There is a select group of mural-supporters commenting on every social media post they can find targeting the people who complained about the mural (and some council members). I will attach a few examples of how they repeated the lie over and over again that several of the complainants were related to me- just to cause trouble and make people angry with me! And they decided the mayor is secretly bossing me around too. They are purposefully spreading misinformation and calling for harassment and "good trouble" aimed at anyone who doesn't agree with them. I hadn't even actually disagreed with them, so they had to make stuff up about me. They posted my personal information as a call to arms.
The argument has been made that this is a small group of bad actors who don't represent the All Bikes Welcome organization or the broader movement. So over the past few days I waited to see if the organization would take a stand and call for their supporters to tone down the violent rhetoric and harassment. They didn't. Crickets from everyone supporting the mural, and it's disappointing. None of y'all backed me up or defended me against the liars.
One thing about the newspaper article that bugs me is the use of the word "blowback" in the headline. We know most Americans just read the headline- not the actual article, right? The word "blowback" insinuates that the attacks were a response to something- a vote, a policy, a public statement. It even makes it sound like I deserved it. But the thing is, I didn't do anything. I just existed as an elected official, and they thought that was enough reason to spread lies and encourage people to attack me. Which is a little crazy when their whole argument is that they are fighting for everyone to belong and have the right to exist. Apparently, not actually everyone. I didn't vote against their mural. I didn't talk bad about their mural. I didn't encourage anyone to do anything related to their mural. I've never discriminated against a trans person. The only thing I have done is vote in favor of supporting the artist of the mural. But it wasn't enough, so they came after me.
I've been a member of the City Council for over 8 years, and this is the first time I've felt fearful. I fear for my safety, my employees' safety, and for my business. I've talked with the police, and I keep checking my security cameras. Every time my phone buzzes my heart drops thinking it's either going to be a security notification or a Google notification of a bad review.
Am I being dramatic? Maybe. I received profanity-laden messages accusing me of that after my last post.
But I'm having a hard time living like this. I serve on the council because I love my community and I love helping residents navigate city government. I've felt a call to be here because I know I'm here for the right reasons. I know I can make a difference. I know I weigh every vote carefully and fairly without letting my personal opinion sway my vote. I receive no personal gain for my service on council (well, we do get a few hundred bucks a month to compensate for our time). But people forget that elected officials are just average people trying to do their actual day jobs and take care of their families.
What's been going through my head all day is "how can people be so mean?" And it makes me mourn for Bentonville.
It also makes me more resolved to make sure the city never gets involved with a social issue ever again. Partisan social issues cause people to have big feelings, and those big feelings cause them to behave irrationally. In this case, the mural supporters feel so confident that they have the moral high ground, that it justifies harassment and attacks against anyone they perceive as different from them or disagreeing with them.
Mayor McCaslin was mayor when I was first elected. He was a great mentor and taught me a lot about what it takes to run a successful and fiscally sound local government. One of his tenants was that the city government stays out of social issues. We are non-partisan for a reason. Local government isn't partisan and we don't have to deal with the divisive social issues you see at the state and national level. We've been asked to pass a resolution declaring Bentonville to be a "pro life city" and we've been asked to fly pride flags during pride month, and plenty of other examples. But we don't do it. We have followed this with much success.
The mural issue has illustrated just how divisive things get when the city accidentally involves itsself in a partisan social issue.
So where do we go from here?
We have two options:
1. We can "grandfather" the mural in, even though it goes against our policy of staying out of social issues. Then we put strong checks and language in our art policy and city code to make sure it doesn't happen again. Basically, we let it slide this time (because we have already approved it) but if another group approaches the city with something similar (language, symbols, branding, etc that supports a business, nonprofit, social issue, or partisan cause) we would not approve it moving forward.
2. We recognize that even though we approved the artwork previously, we did so without full knowledge of the extent to which it was related to and expressing support for a partisan social organization with a specific policy agenda. We have learned that the organization in question discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, hosting the only event in Bentonville that excludes entry based on these factors. Maintaining city support for the mural goes against our longstanding policy of staying out of social issues, so the mural is removed from city property.
This is a difficult decision, and before things got out of control, I was leaning toward option 1. It's in a tunnel, I'm sick of talking about it, we have a lot of other city business to discuss, we approved it so we need to just accept the mistake and move on.
But after seeing the division that this has caused, I have to go with #2. Essentially, the small band of mural supporters who have fanned the flames of contention and harassment with their lies have flipped my vote with their hatred and attacks. I'm not sure what they thought they would accomplish, but it definitely backfired spectacularly.
After seeing what the controversy over this issue has done to Bentonville, I feel more strongly than ever that the city must stick to our policy of staying out of social issues- all social issues from both sides of the aisle. And it isn't fair to let this one stay, but deny the next one.
I do believe strongly that everyone is welcome and wanted in Bentonville. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful, safe, friendly, welcoming place. I hope we can move on from the division that this issue has caused, and focus on ways that we can come together on a local level.
This was insanely long-winded, so I appreciate those who made it to the end. I've had a lot of stuff swirling around in my head. I'm happy to sit down over coffee with anyone who disagrees with me on this issue (or any issue). I promise that sitting down and talking to a person is way more productive than slinging bad google reviews and personal attacks from behind a keyboard.ga
