Editorial: Only the voters can issue judgment on Arnold mayor

Embattled Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi says she has no intention of resigning her office. That announcement, given before a crowded fire hall of protesters calling for her to step down, was received with a chorus of boos and catcalls.

Apparently, it also wasn’t received well by Arnold’s elected council members, who then voted to send a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, asking him to invoke the state constitution and remove Peconi from office.

It’s all about Facebook posts Peconi has acknowledged making that suggested those protesting the killing of Antwon Rose by an East Pittsburgh police officer should be dispersed by use of water cannons. Other Peconi Facebook posts suggested that those protesting on a weekday morning must be unemployed and espoused support for Confederate ideals.

Detractors say the posts, for which Peconi has apologized, show her to be a racist and unfit for elected office.

We agree she should resign. If for no other reason than to take the best interests of Arnold to heart and allow this firestorm to pass so it no longer is a blemish on the city’s reputation. We also question the judgment of any elected official who would post such things to social media without regard to their ramifications.

But we have to part company with Arnold council members when it comes to calling on the governor to remove Peconi from office.

Yes, her comments were offensive and hurtful. There is no excuse for them.

No, her actions did not rise to the level of impeachment from office. Sorry, but offensive speech still is free speech in this country. The First Amendment not only protects the speech with which we agree, it also protects the speech we find loathsome.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. recently said he would not prosecute doctors who perform, nor women who seek, abortions should the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision be overturned. Those comments, doubtless, offended abortion opponents. Shall we write to the governor about him?

How many elected officials spent much of the past year arguing in favor of Second Amendment rights and against gun control? Some even had campaign photos of themselves holding and firing guns. No one could argue that there isn’t a large segment of Pennsylvanians who find such images offensive and even hurtful.

Shall we impeach those officials as well?

Impeachment, rightly, is reserved for those elected officials who have committed serious crimes. It is no trifling thing to bandy about. Indeed, it is a slippery slope when we give government the power to overturn election results based upon its judgment of whether an elected official has offended someone.

Besides, the public has a much more powerful means by which to deal with unfit elected officials. It’s called the voting booth.