Brooklyn Park City Council decides to keep Boyd Morson under censure

October 22, 2024

BP Council Members After Swearing in on Jan 9 2023 — Councilmember Boyd Morson, right, joins other councilmembers for a photo after the new council was sworn in on January 9, 2023. Mshale Staff Photo by Richard Ooga

Brookly Park City Councilmember Boyd Morson censure came up for a six-month review at the October 14 council meeting. He has been censured twice – in March 2022 and again in April 2024.

At the Council meeting last week, after a lengthy discussion, members decided to keep the censure in place because Councilmember Morson has continued to violate terms of the censure, they said.

The city’s attorney, Jim Thomson, told members a vote was not necessary to keep the censure in place but one will be needed to lift it. The Council consists of seven members which includes the mayor. Five of them said it should be kept in place. One Councilmember Maria Tran was absent.

His censure bars him from having direct contact with city staff with the exception of the city manager and the director of the Economic Development Authority.

Following his second censure in April, Morson wrote a hard-hitting Op-ed in Mshale where he claimed the censuring was curtailing his First Amendment rights. He has also previously called on the city attorney and city manager to be investigated by the FBI.

Morson who represents the Central District is up for reelection in November but was redistricted to the East District where he is facing political newcomer Amanda Xiong. Morson and Xiong are vying to replace Councilmember XP Lee who chose not seek reelection.

With him being redistricted away from the Central District to the East District, Shelle Page and Teshite Wako are squaring off in November to represent the district on the Council.

Should Morson win in November his next censure review is expected to be shortly after he is sworn-in in January.

Mayor Hollies Winston summarized the sentiments of most members when he said the censure should stay in place as Morson has not changed his behavior.

“The things we ask to be addressed have not been addressed. In fact, more egregious behavior has been in place in terms of trying to destabilize people’s belief in their actual government,” Mayor Winston said.