By NEAL RENTZ
The Lewisboro Board of Ethics has found that comments made on Facebook and in public by Councilman Daniel Welsh have not posed a conflict of interest under the town’s ethics code. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began last Oct. 7, Welsh has made postings critical of Israel’s actions in the conflict. His comments disturbed and angered some town residents, with several describing his remarks as antisemitic, which the councilman strongly denied.
On Feb. 13, the Lewisboro Town Board referred his recent social media postings and comments to the board of ethics for their review. In a recent decision on a request for an opinion, the board of ethics stated that Welsh did
not violate the ethics code in his social media posts and other comments. It said further that Welsh did not violate the code by continuing to make posts and comments about the conflict over the objections of residents and town board colleagues, who implored him to stop making public pronouncements on the war.
During a public comment period at the June 24 Lewisboro Town Board meeting, Welsh was criticized again by several residents. Resident Cathy Deutsch cited guidance from legal experts who warned of the risks of public officials mixing personal and official posts on social media pages. She stated that Welsh mixes world politics with local posts, while “blocking comments at whim.” Deutsch said social media use guidance should be part of the town’s revised employee handbook, and personal comments from officials should be made separately from town business comments.
Another resident, Daniela Goldman, who has been an outspoken critic of the councilman, reiterated her opinion that Welsh has been making antisemitic comments on his social media account and during town board meetings. Addressing the supervisor, she said, “Tony, you have allowed him to hide behind the statement that this is his First Amendment right to speak in such a manner, but is it?” she asked. As a town board member, Welsh “is speaking on behalf of the town,” Goldman said. The Supreme Court has ruled that public officials cannot delete public comments on their official government social media pages, she said.
Welsh said in an interview following the meeting that his comments about the Middle East conflict were in keeping with what he has said in the past about wars. “I have actively commented on international issues with an anti-war perspective for years and years on Facebook,” he said. “No one ever commented that this was somehow inappropriate until I started opining and sharing about the genocide in Palestine. That should tell you all you need to know.”
Welsh said a small group of residents have “done everything they can to try to silence me, which just highlighted for me how important it is that I don’t give in to them. What would it say for us all if they succeeded? What is the next thing that somebody doesn’t like that should be silenced?” “And anyway,” he continued, “I am not a judge or something that I have to maintain an antiseptic exterior. I’m a legislator, and a citizen, and we are supposed to have opinions. And as these folks themselves have noted, international affairs are not in the scope of the town board, so no one can possibly imagine that when I post an article, say, on how Israel has destroyed every educational institution in Gaza, that this somehow represents town policy.”
Welsh said he has deleted some Facebook posts from his page. “The group had vociferously commented on my posts from the start. I would let the smears go, but occasionally respond to those posts that actually had an element of content in them,” he said.
Residents who opposed him and were outraged by comments on his page would call the Town House in response, Welsh said. “There was a request by one individual at least that I should not allow comments on my posts. Very reluctantly I stopped allowing comments by anyone,” Welsh explained. Welsh has also been the target of criticism from some residents and fellow board members who allege a conflict of interest because he is program director of Westchester Power, a municipal energy-buying cooperative that includes the town of Lewisboro. Welsh said there has been no conflict of interest.
“A couple of board members and certain other members of the public have tried to make the case that there was a conflict of interest in this situation. I have always acted as advised by counsel on this, and there is, in fact and in law, no conflict of interest as Sustainable Westchester is a membership nonprofit.”
Welsh said the board of ethics wouldn’t rule against him in this matter if a referral was made. “But the board yielded to pressure by the group, yet another effort to take me offline,” he said. “This group is driving all of this, and it’s because they feel that critique of Israel is antisemitic, and so I am attacked regularly and publicly with that same descriptor,”
Welsh said. “This is putting a chill on discussion,” he added.
Supervisor Tony Gonçalves said Welsh waived his right to confidentiality as a town employee due to the referral of the war-related matter to the board of ethics. Gonçalves said there will be language in the new town employee handbook, which is being drafted by an outside human resources company, to include policies about social media use. “As to my feelings about mandating the separation of social media accounts, I agree that if an employee has a town account on social media, that account should be used for town relevant information and not for presenting personal views,” he said.