Is Mayor Douglas trying to silence public dissent?

A sensational letter emailed to the City Council makes some startling allegations against Commerce City Mayor Steve Douglas — accusing him of “collecting data on citizens” and attempting to use intimidation to get criticism removed from social media. The letter demands an apology and calls on the council to consider censuring the mayor.

The accusations were sent to the full council by David Polley, a Commerce City civic leader who identifies himself to council members as president of the Eastpoint Homeowners Association and president of the Prairie Farm Metro District. 

Polley says in the email he was “extremely concerned” by the way Douglas tried to contact him, “after I made comments criticizing the City and Council regarding its dealings with small business and the Social Cannabis project.” 

He said Douglas sent him a Facebook message May 14, “stating he was trying to call me to ask some questions but had the wrong number.” Polley continued:

He gave me the number he was calling, which is a phone number I had disconnected probably 15 years ago. I asked him how he got that number and he shared the contact information he had for me saved in his phone which contained several numbers for me, all disconnected, going back to about 2001.

…It appears Mr. Douglas may be using his position to find personal information about citizens for his own use. I find this behavior to be unsettling and unethical, not to mention just plain creepy.

Polley said the mayor followed up his Facebook message a day later, “wanting to meet ‘face-to-face’ and ‘man-to-man,’ then offering an ‘informal apology.’” 

Even more alarming was another of Polley’s revelations:

…on April 4th of this year, Mr. Douglas reached out to me on the NextDoor app to ask me to remove comments made on one of his posts. The conversation was between me and another user debating the Social Cannabis proposed project. …He also asked at least two others I am aware of to do the same thing.

Polley states he previously had shared his concerns with City Manager Jason Rogers but hadn’t heard back from Rogers or city staff, so he decided to bring his allegations to the City Council.

“The actions and behavior by the mayor, to me, is completely unacceptable and raises many ethical questions,” Polley states to the council.

He closes the letter with:

I trust that City and Council will give this information all due consideration and I look forward to hearing what actions you find appropriate. I also look forward to a time when this council is once again seated with members and leaders I can have trust in…