Code of Conduct complaint against Derwent Valley Mayor Michelle Dracoulis partially upheld
A Code of Conduct complaint against Derwent Valley Mayor Michelle Dracoulis has been partially upheld after a local arts organisation was left upset over social media posts.
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A Code of Conduct complaint against Derwent Valley Mayor Michelle Dracoulis has been partially upheld after a local arts organisation was left aggrieved over social media posts.
An independent panel assessed the matter and opted not to sanction Ms Dracoulis, dismissing all but one of the grounds for complaint.
According to the panel, Sophie Reid, of Derwent Valley Arts (DVA), alleged that Ms Dracoulis had breached parts of the Derwent Valley Council Code of Conduct by posting online comments that were “not true and damaged the brand and reputation of DVA”.
Ms Dracoulis’s remarks are not republished in the decision but it’s said that the Mayor made posts on her personal Facebook page prior to July 2024 in which she expressed concerns about the “content of a proposed exhibition” and that due to her own personal experience with the “nature” of the DVA exhibition, she felt “compelled” to comment on it.
In a statement to the Mercury, Ms Dracoulis cautioned other councillors to be “diligent and define which perspective they are talking from in any potentially public forum”.
“Local government elected members do not have privacy, and our careers, partners and family can all get caught in the social crossfire,” she said.
Ms Reid argued that Ms Dracoulis’s posts had breached sections of the Code of Conduct relating to unfair treatment, causing offence and embarrassment, and not clearly indicating when she was expressing her personal views rather than those held in her capacity as Mayor.
“Ms Reid claimed that while Cr Dracoulis made these posts on her personal Facebook page by making references to her position as mayor, she blurred the distinction between these two personae,” the panel’s decision read.
“Further, Ms Reid added that because she is the Mayor, her comments are more likely to carry weight in the community and as a result people would develop a negative attitude towards DVA.”
In her response to the panel, Ms Dracoulis said she had both a personal and professional Facebook page and refuted the claim she had damaged the council and the local arts community due to the content of her posts.
“The panel has acknowledged that Cr Dracoulis may have been under the impression that her personal Facebook page could not be accessed by the wider community. However, this was not the case and consequently individuals other than her personal friends were able to access the content,” the decision said.
The panel ruled that Ms Dracoulis had breached the Code of Conduct for councillors by not clearly distinguishing whether she was commenting in a personal or mayoral capacity.
But it found that she had not treated any individual unfairly or caused a person offence or embarrassment.
“The panel … had regard to the very nature of the content on [Ms Dracoulis’s] personal Facebook page and the fact that no person, individual or organisation was cited in her remarks,” the decision read.
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