Ken Gilbert now in the position; At issue was a statement made to the media by Fletcher concerning the Council’s pause on proclamations, 'Proud in the Cloud' agreement
Tensions boiled over at Thursday night’s St. Cloud City Council meeting as a sharp rift between Mayor Chris Robertson and Deputy Mayor Shawn Fletcher took center stage, overshadowing the evening’s agenda.
By the end of the four-hour meeting, Deputy Mayor Shawn Fletcher’s position had been reassigned to Council Member Ken Gilbert. Fletcher remains a member of the Council.
At issue was a statement made to the media by Fletcher concerning the Council’s pause on proclamations. That pause caused three planned June proclamations to be withheld: Home Ownership Month, Fatherhood Awareness Month, and, closest to Fletcher, Pride Month.
“The [Pride Month] proclamation will not be issued,” Fletcher said in his statement to the media last month. “To take the time to basically say you’re not valued or worthy enough to be a resident of the city is just unbelievable.”
At Thursday’s meeting, which began with an invocation and 49 seconds of silence observed for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting on its ninth anniversary, Council members fought back against what they said were “unfair and untrue” statements by Fletcher.
Gilbert stated that on May 27, he read a press release by the deputy mayor that stated the decision to pause proclamations should never be decided behind closed doors.
“Part of our rules and regulations up here is that we cannot talk to each other (when) that's not publicly noticed,” Gilbert said. “I want to go on record to say we did not have a meeting behind closed doors. The meeting was open to the public and was invited to everybody in the public, including Council. That, to me, is a little defamation of my character about having meetings behind closed doors. I'm open to anybody all the time.”
Regarding the pause on proclamations, Council member Jennifer Paul added, “Our goal is to establish clear and consistent process for all (proclamation) applications, guaranteeing fair and impartial consideration for every request. It is inaccurate to suggest that this pause targets any specific group or represents an attempt to reject certain proclamations, when all proclamations were paused.
“Our commitment to inclusivity remains steadfast. This is evidenced by our prior decision brought forward to the council by Deputy Mayor Fletcher to relocate the Proud in the Cloud event from Lakefront to The Ranch to accommodate prescheduled construction at the Lakefront. We all agreed to approve the change of location without any problems.”
Council member Kolby Urban said, “Rather than having an open discussion on the dais, as is appropriate, Mr. Fletcher chose to leave the meeting and abruptly issue a so-called press release in which he claimed that the council was ‘undemocratic and discriminatory,’ and falsely stated, ‘These matters should never be decided behind closed doors.’
“This misleading press release then prompted news coverage across the country. To take the time to basically say, “You're not valued or worthy enough to be a resident of the city,’ is just unbelievable. Deputy Mayor, when did we ever say that?”
Urban said that he found the comments not only offensive, but also irresponsible and borderline defamatory.
“The deputy mayor knows that St. Cloud is an inclusive city that treats every resident with equality and respect. Discrimination, harassment, or violence against any group will not be tolerated in this community,” Urban said, before making a motion to reassign the position of deputy mayor. The Council voted 3-2 to remove Fletcher from the position and voted 5-0 to appoint Gilbert as deputy mayor.
“This is not what I envision this Council to be,” Mayor Chris Robertson said. “I've said it many times: I see this Council as such a great Council that actually respect each other, and I know [City Attorney] Dan [Mantzaris] has seen Councils go at each other in the past, and I was very thankful that that was not the case here. Then you did it to us, and you betrayed us.”
“Do you believe I’m a homophobe?” Robertson asked Fletcher, to which Fletcher responded, “No.”
“Have I ever targeted the gay community?” Robertson asked, and Fletcher replied, “I don’t think so.”
“You ran us all through the mud, I am disappointed in you,” Robertson said, “When you go to the media with comments that are not true, when this Council - whether through consensus or through a vote - when that is the stance of this Council, that is the stance of the City of St. Cloud. And for you to go out and say something contrary to that undermines this Council.”
Fletcher countered the decision to pause proclamations wasn't done at a Council meeting.
“Having the proclamation means a lot to people. I had to pick up the phone and call people, and I knew that they were going to be upset about it,” he said.
“Over the past few weeks, I've taken call after call about the proclamation that I presented and was discussed this evening, some folks who are in support, and some others who are not … Can we do it in July, is my point. As friends, we could have taken that into consideration.”
Robertson also addressed the use of The Ranch for the Proud in the Cloud event, saying Fletcher proposed the City allow the group to use The Ranch at the same price they would have paid to use the Lakefront.
“He's a member of [the organization], so he should not have been the one asking for that,” Robertson said, noting the City agreed to allow the 2000–4000-person event to take place at The Ranch for a price they would have paid to use the Lakefront, when the cost for to rent The Ranch for that sized event would be at least $21,000.
“This is a $5.5 million asset of the City of St. Cloud, and that’s a $21,000 loss.” Robertson said. “My job is to protect the assets of the City. I believe Council Member Fletcher knew (the added cost). I believe the (City) manager knew it. And I believe it was orchestrated.”
Friday, City Manager Veronica Miller emailed the News-Gazette details of the May 2025 ordinance put in place for special events.
"Council approved those changes, and we are operating under those new procedures now for all applications," she said. "The new procedures are far more robust than the previous process, including the implementation of new software that will streamline the process and require multiple approval levels.
"I am committed to working with our Mayor and City Council to continue finding ways to enhance the value our residents are getting for their tax dollars. As such, we are reviewing the Mayor’s concerns and will ensure appropriate changes are made."
