ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In an unexpected move, Englewood councilmember John Stone announced he will step down during Monday's council meeting.
“I have been reading your [city residents'] emails and messages to me, and I’ve taken phone calls and talked to people. And effective immediately, I’ll be resigning from city council,” Stone said.
This was weeks in the making — fellow councilman Joe Anderson called out Stone during a meeting in mid-February for tweets he said used "violent rhetoric."
"What I’ve seen on Twitter, he has said to a specific person, 'light the BBQ — it’s time for some capitalistic pork ribs,'" Anderson said of a specific tweet during the city council meeting on Feb. 16.
The recently surfaced tweets were enough to get Stone's Twitter account suspended. Stone, a self-proclaimed Communist, apologized as he resigned.
"I apologize for any harm that people feel I have done. I wanted to serve this community, and I will continue to serve this community in every way that I possibly can," Stone said during the March 1 meeting.
Anderson became emotional following Stone's resignation during the meeting.
"This is sad. To be honest, this is really sad. So, thank you, Member Stone. Thank you for doing this under the circumstances," Anderson said.
"I saw him as a fellow human with all of the challenges and difficulties that go with it," Anderson said in an interview with Denver7.
Councilmember Stone declined to comment.
It's unclear when city council will appoint Stone's temporary replacement.
Englewood Mayor Linda Olson provided the following statement:
“It's important for our community to know that our council was caught off guard by the social media activity of Mr. Stone. It does not reflect our values of creating an open, welcoming community to all viewpoints, with civil discourse and respect. He did the right thing by stepping down and allowing our city to move forward. I wish him peace.”
