Growing numbers call for Greeley city councilwoman to resign as other elected officials say conflict is a distraction

By Kelly Ragan

If Greeley city councilwoman Kristin Zasada could go back in time, she said she wouldn’t have typed up the response to a post on Facebook. Maybe, she said, she never would have signed up for Facebook at all.

Zasada still stands by her statements that sparked more than 1,000, including a fellow councilman, to call for her resignation, she said in an interview with the NoCo Optimist. But she wishes she would have handled the situation differently. 

Since then, Zasada said she responded to at least 65 people who’ve emailed her and invited folks to talk it out so she could hear about their concerns in person. So far, three people have taken her up on her offer, she said, though one dropped out today. 

“I’m totally willing to learn from it,” Zasada said. “Let’s talk about these things.”

On May 31, Zasada posted on her personal Facebook account saying as a mother, she was worried about violent protests. 

A back and forth ensued with one of Zasada’s friends from college. Her friend said police brutality was the leading cause of death for black men. Zasada found statistics on the Centers for Disease Control website to prove homicide is, in fact, the leading cause of death for young black men.  Zasada then referenced black-on-black crime and questioned the validity of voter suppression.  

“And who was our last president? A black man. That’s right – a black man reached the highest form of political office,” Zasada wrote. “So if black voters were suppressed, then that would mean the majority of whites voted for him. But that doesn’t play well into your majority of whites are racist rhetoric does it? Unbelievable.” 

The city of Greeley received at least 50 emails regarding the comments, many asking for Zasada to resign or to be removed from council. 

More than 1,110 people signed a change.org petition calling for Zasada to resign as of Wednesday night.

The NoCo Optimist filed a Colorado Open Records Act request and obtained dozens of those emails. 

Some criticism came from folks who voted for Zasada. 

“It’s disgusting how you can say it ‘saddens and frightens’ you that this is the world your daughter lives in,” one person, who said she’d voted for Zasada, wrote. “But you’ll never be as terrified as all the black parents out there fearing for their children’s lives every day they go outside their homes.” 

Another wrote, “to imply that ‘yay racism is over, cause a black guy was president’ is a shameful and tired routine. How can you be a voice to Weld County’s black constituents – many of whom came to this city as a result of ethnic and cultural genocide – if you’re willfully blind to the issues they face?”

The post has also created frustration within city council. On Saturday, city councilmember Tommy Butler released a statement. 

Butler said he condemned Zasada’s “racist statements” in her Facebook post.  

“So what is there to do to heal a community being divided right now? Should I call on her to apologize? She should, but I honestly don’t think she will,” Butler said in the statement. “She had that opportunity already and didn’t. Should I call on her to resign? Many in our community are doing that, and it is the simplest, fastest way to fix the problem. But I don’t think she will resign either.” 

Ultimately, Butler said, voters have power at the ballot box. 

Butler also expressed disappointment with the joint statement the city council released regarding George Floyd’s death. 

“I pushed for the statement from City Council to include the words ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Those words are missing from the statement.” Butler said in a statement. “I am heartbroken and angry about the murder of George Floyd, and I am frustrated that we failed to do the bare minimum.” 

Greeley Mayor John Gates sees the conflict as a distraction, he told the NoCo Optimist in an interview. The city, like all others, faces a budget crisis, continues to struggle with the virus and has a population struggling to land on its feet. 

 “We, as a council, don’t have time to involve ourselves in these disputes,” Gates said.

Gates, a Greeley native, is a former police officer, spending his career with the Greeley Police Department. He also served as a Greeley city council member from 2009-2017 before he was elected as mayor in 2017 and re-elected in 2019. These days, people also know him as the director of school safety and security for Greeley-Evans School District 6.

Gates said he too has received many emails regarding Zasada’s post. 

“We’ve had lots of emails demanding I remove councilor Zasada, or that the council remove her,” Gates said. “What people don’t understand is that we’re all independent elected officials. We don’t have the authority to do that.”

Gates said he’s just one vote on city council. Other council members don’t really work for him, even if they respect the fact that he’s the mayor. He’s not the boss. 

“So, three things could happen in a case like this or any other scenario,” Gates said. “Someone can choose to resign, there may be a recall effort or constituents can vote them out at the next election.” 

Gates said he knows there’s a lot of tension and anger in the community. Much of it, he said, is related to George Floyd’s death. People have also been locked down due to COVID for months, he said, creating a perfect storm.

“2020 will shape up to be a terrible year,” Gates said. “…Things will get better. Maybe our society will improve as a result of all the conversations on racism.” 

Gates said he encouraged Butler and Zasada to issue statements on the matter. Both did. Both said very different things. It’s clear they don’t agree, but Gates isn’t too worried about that. 

“Both councilors are professionals,” Gates said. “I have no reason to think they are not going to buckle down and move forward.

COVID has obviously been a big deal. It’s been a major thing on everyone’s mind, from city council, to private business, to public schools. But it hasn’t removed all the other things city council needs to work on. 

For Gates, city growth, the decline of oil and gas, businesses impacted by COVID and transportation issues are top of mind. 

“We were really wrestling with growth before COVID came along,” Gates said. “Now we have the decline of oil and gas, which will impact our finances. We don’t yet know to what extent businesses have closed down because of COVID. I want us to keep a grip on those and move forward accordingly.”