Deppe said, “A Community Development Worker (CDW) was present in a Councillor Forum – and I tweeted that I felt it inappropriate to have him present during the discussions. Within seconds of my tweet, the Regional Director and ANC Councillors of the Councillor Forum saw ‘red’ and took it upon themselves to ‘chastise’ me for my actions, demanding that I leave the Forum … and further demanding that I apologise for my actions.
“There is no rule – local or otherwise – regarding tweeting about proceedings in the Councillor Forum. It is my consitutional right to tweet about the fact that CDWs should not be present in Councillor Forum meetings … which are the domain of sitting Councillors. In addition to them being aggressive and injudicious, it was a grave infringement of my freedom of expression and association, and out of keeping with the spirit of the Forum.
“As the only DA Councillor left in the meeting, the Chair felt it appropriate to berate me. I found his conduct unprofessional in the extreme, ungentlemanly and misplaced. He had no right to address me in the manner in which he did. If an apology is due – it is from him to me, and not the other way around.”
