ANTIOCH, Calif. At a special meeting Friday night, the Antioch City Council unanimously removed Ken Turnage from the planning commission for declaring on social media that nature should take its course as the coronavirus kills the weak, the old and the homeless.

The impact of commissioner Turnages statements on his Facebook post have caused unnecessary damage during a time of extreme difficulty for this community and for the state and our nation as we deal with extreme consequences, loss of life, severe illness, economic fallout, Mayor Pro Tem Joy Motts said during the three-hour meeting, which drew about 100 public comments, most of them denouncing the planning commission chairmans views.

Turnage, 47, a local home contractor and former Antioch citizen of the year, recently wrote on his personal Facebook page that society should adopt a herd mentality, and although that means the weak, elderly, homeless and others would perish, the nation and planet would strengthen when this is all settled.

He also wrote that this virus is like a human version of a forest fire, a forest fire will burn through and burn off all the dead trees, old trees, fallen brush, and scrub shrub-sucklings that drain the resources of the forest and causing it to be unhealthy.

We would have significant loss of life, we would lose many elderly, that would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost (once the wave subsided), make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing in which we are in dire need of, he added.

In a phone call to the council during the Zoom meeting, a defiant Turnage stood by his words, reiterating his belief in ecological balance, which he said he wrote about to spark debate.

My personal opinion had nothing to do with the city or my position on the planning commission, so to try to somehow link them or create a nexus to further your political agenda is shameful, Turnage told the council, adding his ouster would amount to a violation of First Amendment rights.

Being removed from the planning commission because my opinion is not liked or agreed with is not a fair reason to be removed, he said. In fact, in a country where we value free speech, it is unconscionable and sends a message that only like-minded people can serve this city.

When he finished speaking, several residents called in to express their opinions and officials read 92 emails into the record. The comments ranged from support for Turnages character and his right to free speech to comparing his viral post to Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf.

Lucas Stuart Chilcote said that despite Turnages service to the community, that activism doesnt provide you a get-out-of-jail card for making such insensitive comments.

Leslie May called Turnages Facebook post unfathomable.

No, this is not the way of the world, she said. We are not sacrificial lambs or any of the negative connotations he alluded to. We are original offsprings of the pioneers of this nation.

Many of us have served in the military to protect the very land of the people who enjoy it now, whether young or old.

Mary Dunrose called Turnages views sociopathic and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

This is a person who helps promote senior housing, and he thinks all seniors should be dead, she said. He is not impartial he promotes discrimination.

Laura Gilbert wrote that Turnages musings bear a troubling resemblance to the sentiments espoused by the man my 94-year-old father fought to defeat in World War II. Letting remarks like these slide is how the unthinkable becomes possible.

Antioch homeless advocate Nichole Gardner wrote that Turnage and his supporters need to understand that this is not a freedom of speech issue. We should not have people calling to reopen the government so that we could allow nature to run its course and have people who have strong immunities go out and infect the weak, the poor, and the elderly so that they could die, while also representing those same individuals.

But Ron Zaragoza urged the council to let Turnage remain on the commission.

Society has become much too quick to demonize and punish each other, he wrote. We should not throw stones in the big glasshouse that we all live in together.

Retired police Chief Allan Cantando also supported Turnage, noting other council members have written questionable posts. Lets call it like it is its a critical attack, he said in a call to the council, suggesting the proposed removal was politically motivated.

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Longtime volunteers Beverly Knight and Michele Kuslits also defended Turnage, saying he has a right to freedom of speech.

But City Attorney Thomas Smith said freedom of speech wasnt the issue.

The focus is what is the reaction and impact that this speech has had on the residents of Antioch and the confidence and the trust in the government, Smith said. This has incited an impact and you as policymakers will have to determine what that impact is.

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Councilman Lamar Thorpe called the situation unfortunate before making a motion to remove the commissioner. This is sad for the entire community, he said, noting he had lost confidence in Turnages ability to lead.

Motts called the post absurd, adding that she has received emails from around the country about the viral posting.

It should be noticeably clear to all of us that the words you put out to the public, even on social media, can have grave consequences, she said.

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Councilwoman Monica Wilson, who had called for Turnages resignation Tuesday, simply reiterated that he must go.

Mayor Sean Wright, who had called for the special meeting after Turnage rejected his request to resign, got the last words in before the council voted.

City officials are held to a higher standard, he said. When our words as public servants undermine the citys overall position and cause the citizens to lose confidence in us especially in a pandemic when people are losing their lives and families are victims to illness its something that must be examined. The only way out of this crisis is to support one another with our words and our actions.

2020 East Bay Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)

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