The questionable truth behind the Recall page

By Shey Joy, Stevensville

If you are curious about the character of those behind the current recall effort directed at Mayor Dewey, I suggest you take a minute to visit the “Recall of Brandon Dewey” Facebook page. The anonymous author(s) of this page hide behind their keyboard, eschewing any personal responsibility for their distribution of misinformation and spiteful, arrogant, and hateful words.

The page’s About section states: “Citizens against Mayor Dewy (sic). I am an ex-employee of the Town of Stevensville. Who has watched things get way out of hand. This is why I am speaking out.” When questioned about their identity, they said they were “someone who still has to work in Town with everyone.” Oddly, for someone who proclaims they have to work with others in town, there is nothing on their page that leads me to believe they really do value relationships with others. They trolled Mayor Dewey’s personal FB page and used numerous personal images of him without his permission and when questioned about it, stated, “When you put images on the internet it is free for the posting. I don’t troll anyone’s page. It comes freely across my feed.” Without arguing the legality of this, I think we can all agree it’s creepy and invasive.

Numerous statements are made regarding the Town staff’s June 4, 2020 letter to the Bitterroot Star (asking for an end to harassment of staff), which Recall characterizes as the Mayor allowing “staff to demean residents in paper.” It’s odd, and rather disappointing, to think that an ex-employee of Town would shift blame to Mayor Dewey, claiming a lack of management skills on his part for “allowing” staff to submit a letter to the paper, going so far as to call this action “unethical and illegal acts as a mayor,” rather than focusing their concern on the bullying and harassment of their fellow Town employees. As an ex-Town employee, I would expect them to be aghast and angered by the situation, but oddly, their message is in-step with the angry minority seeking Mayor Dewey’s departure from office. Additionally, their concern over the staff’s letter seems focused on the staff’s treatment of the council: “I have seen staff demean council, I have seen the Mayor demean council, how can a council member do their job, without speaking to employees.” Once again, no mention of OTHER Town employees being demeaned, only Council members. It almost makes you wonder if this ex-employee isn’t actually a disgruntled ex-Council member.

On the flip-side, however, at one point the page stated, “So Mr. Dewey can sue the County, the Recall group. On his $1k a month salary. Who is paying the fees for Your attorney?” While I’m confused how the payment of Mayor Dewey’s attorney fees is pertinent to the recall effort, it’s interesting the author repeatedly posts statements that confuse “the Recall group” with Leanna Rodabaugh, the actual subject of Mayor Dewey’s lawsuit. Or maybe they weren’t confused. Regardless, they support Leanna, encouraging her to “stay strong and sue them when it’s over.” An odd suggestion, considering their continued criticism of Mayor Dewey’s lawsuit.

Despite this individual’s insistence that they are sharing “the truth,” their posts are riddled with errors: When listing the “5 reasons why you should have resigned,” they include the “$6K on desks” (cost was actually less than $3K), “staff trip” (training for personnel), and “so many more” (one of many vague, unsubstantiated statements alluding to a laundry list of wrongdoings by our Mayor that are never actually spelled out). Oddly, none of items listed in these “5 reasons” were included in the recall petition, which one would expect them to be if they were truly reasons for someone to be recalled.

In closing, I will leave a message to Mr./Ms. Recall – I hope the citizens reading your posts on these pages realize that while you are questioning the Stevensville citizens’ ability to trust Mayor Dewey and two council members, you are hiding your own identity/ies, making it impossible for citizens to identify you and thereby determine their own trust in your posts and information. Hiding behind anonymity to attack others on social media is a cheap act of cowardice. Respectful people use their real identity to address matters of importance in a dignified manner. Anonymous insults hold no value. They’re absolutely worthless.