Protecting Free Speech in NYC
NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino's speech is under attack, and so is her job!
Vickie Paladino is being illegally and unconstitutionally targeted by City Council leadership in NYC. Due to controversial social media posts the council is threatening to expel Paladino from her job. She has rightly taken this matter to court and is represented by a fabulous civil rights attorney, Jim Walden.
Thankfully all accounts of the court hearing on April 14 report that the judge overseeing her case, Justice Kraus, was very skeptical of what city council is doing to Paladino.
According to attorney Jim Walden;
“On pointed questioning from Justice Kraus, the lawyer for the City Council was (finally) forced to concede that the Council lacked power the (sic) expel Vickie Paladino!! He admitted expulsion would be “unconstitutional.” On that basis, the Judge called the charge against Vickie “defective,” since it threatened expulsion from Council. Until the Court issues an opinion, it’s not a final word. But it was a bad day for City Council. And a good day for our Constitution! And a great day for CM Paladino’s supporters!!
Here is what Paladino had to say after she left the courtroom:
I greatly appreciate Jim Walden and his excellent legal representation on behalf of Paladino, supporting her fight of free speech. I was honored to spend last weekend messaging over 100 of my friends and followers to show up to court to support Vickie Paladino. Let’s not forget that it was Paladino who stood up for fired unvaccinated workers when no one else did.
To be clear, I do not agree with all of Paladino’s comments, including one in particular that landed her in hot water. On X she stated we need to begin to consider the “expulsion of Muslims from western nations.” I disagree strongly with that statement.
However, the notion that Paladino should be expelled from her job for stating this opinion is flat out illegal and unconstitutional. There are many members of City Council who have made far worse public comments on social media, and they are not facing any reprimand. Why single out Paladino? The whole point of free speech is that we are guaranteed to hear things we don’t like, and that’s a good thing!
Only the voters can “expel” Vickie Paladino from her job and, thus far, they have not done so; not by a long shot. Vickie is beloved by her constituents as they know she is fighting for them everyday.
FLASHBACK: I want to remind everyone Vickie was the first politician in NYC to stand up for fired unvaccinated workers. In 2021 she campaigned on bringing back unvaccinated workers to our jobs. Shortly after she was elected to office, in March of 2022, Paladino helped organize a rally in Queens at Flushing Meadow Park in front of the Unisphere where over 300 people showed up, getting major press attention. Paladino was refused entry into City Hall on her first day because she refused to tell them her vaccine status. “It’s none of their business!” she said to me when I first met her in Whitestone. Teachers for Choice will never forget Vickie’s amazing courage! I don’t have to agree with Paladino on everything to continue to support her and fight for her rights to free speech; I remember very clearly what it felt like to be censored myself during COVID!
Yes free speech must be protected.
Yes Michael, I agree with you. I had to look at the big picture and not allow others to use an in-discretionary utterance to cloud my judgement in helping them to remove Ms. Paladino from her job. This lady is a woman who uses common sense in making serious decisions. In fact, she did advocate on Common Sense matters in her support of the unvaccinated city workers. No one agrees with everything anyone does, but because I remembered that Ms. Paladino was in the minority of politicians who supported us and still does today, while others continue to persecute us, I respect her for her standards and principles in not going along with her colleagues just to get along. She knew she has to look herself in the mirror and make sure she loved the reflection of herself; otherwise, she knows how miserable her life could be.
In this ostracism, I believe these career city council members are singling out Ms. Paladino as a scapegoat, and trying to silence her, but thankfully, the judge saw right through this nonsense and allowed her to walk confidently with her belief values that she meant no harm. Stay strong!