I am both concerned and angered by the fact that Mayor Friedel now posts his “Friedel Friday” video updates on issues of interest and importance to residents, seemingly only on the pages of private Facebook groups. The administrators of these groups are known to have banned and blocked residents, like me, who have questioned or challenged the mayor’s representations and statements.
Prior to the election the videos were posted on Friedel’s public social media pages and YouTube. Now, they are published on the pages of private groups where the administrators exercise control over the residents who will be allowed to view the content and potentially delete critical commentary.
This shift to posting the Friedel Friday videos on the pages of private groups constitutes another violation of the Mayor’s “full transparency pledge,” but I believe it also constitutes a violation of the First Amendment rights of the residents who have been blocked and banned.
