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Mounds View EDA April 10, 2000 Regular Meeting Page 5 He stated he also believed in the First and Second Amendments, however, as a newly appointed member to the EDC, and he was quite offended by these comments. He stated he was not a personal friend of Mayor Coughlin’s, although possibly in the future he would be. He indicated he is not Jewish, nor did he fight in World War II, however, he thought comments of this nature were very inappropriate. Dr. Belting stated these are Ms. Olsen’s First Amendment Rights, and they were not attempting to censor people, however, she has been somewhat empowered by the City, and people should be held accountable for their actions. He indicated the Chamber simply felt it was inappropriate that a member of the EDC, which represents the business community, would make statements about someone in reference to Adolf Hitler. Dr. Belting stated he has two children, and if his six year-old does something wrong, he appreciates and acknowledged the fact that this has occurred, and hopefully, there is an apology involved. He added that there is also some retribution involved, at some point, for actions that are inappropriate. He indicated that you must stand for something, and comments such as these are very contrary to the attitude that the Chamber of Commerce would like to represent. He stated he was very embarrassed to learn that the person that made these statements was a fellow member of the EDC. He reiterated these comments were very inappropriate, and he was embarrassed to act on a body that has this person in its membership. He stated he wanted to distance himself as far as possible from this individual, and hoped that the Chamber has accomplished this with its letter. Commissioner Thomason advised that the issue at hand, aside from First Amendment Rights, is a request from the Chamber to have this person removed because she is unable to effectively represent the business community, in that they feel that she has damaged that relationship because of her choice to exercise her First Amendment Rights. She explained that the Authority must consider this issue, and with the approval of this resolution, they are. She indicated in terms of First Amendment Rights, she was not aware that liable and slander were protected, and in her opinion, these statements border upon that. She explained that an individual has no more right to go into a theater and yell “fire”, when there is no threat. She advised that they have the First Amendment Right to do so, however, they must also pay the consequences. Vice President Stigney stated the individual that Ms. Olsen may have been referring to could likely deal with these comments as a public official, however, he did not believe they would hold water because public officials are open to scrutiny. He explained for example, the Governor called the members of the Legislature “gutless cowards”, and it is only a matter of opinion whether they are or not, and no one would likely be sued for that. He stated this goes to his original point, in that he may not particularly support what someone says, however, he does support their right to say it. Commissioner Marty indicated he also believed in the First Amendment, and would not wish to deprive anyone of their rights, however, when an individual is acting as a member of a