MONROE, N.C. — A controversial proclamation by the mayor of Monroe in June prompted the city's council to censure him and eliminate some of his position's powers.
The Monroe City Council voted 5-2 to censure Mayor Robert Burns in a meeting on Tuesday. The decision comes after Burns made a proclamation during the council's June 24 meeting celebrating the second anniversary of the Roe v. Wade reversal by the Supreme Court of the United States.
"I don't take it back at all," Burns said after the vote. "I wear this [censure] with a badge of honor."
Council members and Burns argued about the issue for close to 30 minutes. Those favoring the censure cited repeated patterns by Burns of acting out of order.
"These repeated patterns included social media posts with content directed at citizens and merchants, particularly the calling of individuals 'narcissistic beta male snowflakes,'" Council Member James Kerr said. "A second instance was to use the City Hall address phone number for a National Day of Prayer contact for a group unrelated to the city of Monroe. Thirdly, the endorsement of two political candidates in an official capacity as mayor."
The city council also eliminated the mayor's ability to create committees and declare proclamations without the city council's permission.
This isn't the first time Burns' comments have been deemed controversial. In January, some Monroe residents responded negatively to Burns calling people "narcissistic beta males" and "snowflake complainers" on Facebook.
Burns provided WCNC Charlotte with the following statement:
“There’s no secret any longer that I am a bold individual that will not back away from the platform I ran on to get elected, which is as a Christian, Constitutionalist, Conservative. As mayor I will use my office to give a voice to the voiceless and push our city like never before to be the best it has ever been. That must start with focusing on the value of human life because every life has value and worth from the womb to the tomb. Because I value human life, that’s why I released the proclamation. What people will realize is that I am always the same person in front of people and behind closed doors. We need leaders today more than ever who will stand for their cause, that won’t back down just because of something is or isn’t popular. That’s not why we were elected. We were elected based on our platforms. And something I will never do is cave to my morals and values. Being censured for standing for life is something I will proudly wear as a badge of honor.
I want to make it very clear I am not angry in the slightest with the council. People can watch the recorded stream on Youtube and make their own conclusions on the real nature of what happened. However, now that we got all that out of the way, we must work through our differences and do real work for our people in Monroe. I am willing to do that (and have always been). I don’t regret anything and will stay focused on my mission to make Monroe the greatest, safest, and most family-friendly city in America. That will take people who fundamentally disagree on things or how to work towards that goal, to work through them. Our people deserve that.”