Jefferson County commissioners have agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit that claimed county officials violated the First Amendment rights of a Port Townsend man who was blocked from the …
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Jefferson County commissioners have agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit that claimed county officials violated the First Amendment rights of a Port Townsend man who was blocked from the county’s Facebook page and had his comments removed from the social media website.
Commissioners unanimously approved a $12,500 settlement with Jim Scarantino Monday.
Scarantino, with the assistance of Joseph D’Amico and the Jefferson County Accountability Project, had filed a lawsuit against the county in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in November 2020. Scarantino had alleged the county had blocked him on its official Facebook page and deleted his comments.
As part of the settlement of the federal lawsuit, the county agreed to change its social media policies on the posting of political statements and the blocking of people or their comments from public view.
The 12-page settlement was approved after a private executive session by county commissioners May 10.
Commission Chairwoman Kate Dean said the legal challenge brought to light some problems with how the county’s Facebook page was being managed.
“We took this very seriously, and did an investigation that revealed some inappropriate banning and blocking on our Facebook page,” Dean said.
Dean said no personal information was shared, and no privacy was breached, during that process, she added.
The investigation revealed a lack of internal controls that the county is currently working to fix, Dean said.
Dean said more county oversight was also planned in the future.
Commissioner Greg Brotherton said the county had created a social media policy and a Facebook presence to increase transparency in county government and to encourage dialog with the public.
“This is a stumbling block that’s on our shoulders,” Brotherton said.
“We’re still committed to the goal and that culture,” he added. “We will appropriately adjust our social media policy, create a little more robust oversight, and keep at it.”
“This feels like a good path forward,” added Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour.
