Brooklyn Park City Council member censured for 2nd time

On Monday night, the Brooklyn Park City Council voted to censure Council Member Boyd Morson, the second time in two years the council has taken that action.

In a 5-1 vote, the council passed a resolution to censure Morson for violating the city’s Respectful Workplace Policy, the city’s Code of Conduct Policy for Elected Officials and terms of a censure outlined in a March 2022 resolution that is still in effect.

Monday’s action came after a city staff member filed a complaint after seeing a Feb. 20 Facebook post in which Morson allegedly criticized City Manager Jay Stroebel and “the highly responsible city staff that he chose to head that department” for not making the creation of gyms at the Community Activity Center a priority. The redacted complaint obtained by the Star Tribune also referenced several other social media posts and emails dating to August 2023 in which Morson referred to Stroebel as the ”city manager of our misery.”

In a different Facebook post, Morson accused Council Member XP Lee of being “corrupt,” according to the resolution passed Monday.

“In my opinion, this type of hostile work environment and social media narrative undermines the work being done by the entire department by questioning the motives of the City Manager,” part of the staff member’s complaint reads. “This unfortunately was not the first time he has posted these types of comments.”

Morson was not present at Monday’s meeting. An email sent to Morson seeking comment had not yet been returned.

Morson, the most senior member of the City Council, was censured in March 2022 after an outside investigator concluded he aggressively communicated by e-mail to a female city employee and subjected her to some level of “unwanted physical contact.”

At the time, Morson was removed from city commissions, committees, task forces, boards and associations. Morson’s official communication was to flow through the city manager except for matters concerning the Economic Development Authority. And his communication was to be “professional and not belligerent, impertinent, abusive or disparaging,” the March 7, 2022, resolution stated.

In his latest troubles, Morson is accused of speaking ill of Stroebel and city staff as Brooklyn Park studies whether to remove one of the two ice sheets at the Community Activity Center and replace it with a gymnasium for basketball, pickleball, volleyball and special events. Morson has been on record with support for the plan.

The Parks Department has been studying its options to meet residents’ recreational needs, but has not made a final decision.

On April 1, the council met in a closed session to review the allegations against Morson and give him a copy of the complaint. The council determined that Morson violated the Code of Conduct for Elected Officials, which states council members must treat all staff as professionals, refrain from publicly criticizing employees and avoid making personal comments about other council members.

“This is a disturbing pattern of behavior,” Lee said Monday before voting in favor of the censure. “It’s unbecoming of a City Council member. It’s disappointing.”

Morson, whose term runs through the end of the year, will remain on the council, but he cannot represent the city in any official capacity at any city sponsored public event, the resolution states. He also is removed from all commissions, committees, task forces, boards and associations. He cannot use city money to attend conferences or events on behalf of the city.

Council Member Maria Tran voted against the resolution, saying Morson suffers from mental health issues stemming from his service in the military. “We need to help him,” she said.

But the remainder of the council disagreed, saying Morson was offered counseling and training after the 2022 censure but did not accept it.

“The City Council sincerely hopes that Council Member Morson can modify his statements and behavior so that he can become an effective and productive member of the Brooklyn Park City Council,” the resolution states.