KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — An angry, in-your-face confrontation between local Democratic elected officials was caught on camera Tuesday.
The argument in front of the Kalamazoo County Administration Building was between Kalamazoo County Commissioner Stephanie Moore and Kalamazoo City Commissioner Shannon Sykes. It took place between the county board’s Meeting of the Whole in the afternoon and their regular evening meeting.
The spat appears to be over Moore’s deal in January to trade her vote to the Republicans in exchange for being elected vice chairperson. There have been hard feelings between Democrats ever since.
Sykes is the former chairperson of the Kalamazoo County Democrats. Moore can clearly be heard accusing Sykes of calling her a “sellout” on Sykes’ Facebook page, angrily pointing her finger at Sykes and insisting she had been “disrespected.”
Moore then turned on a citizen who was recording the confrontation, getting right in the lens of the camera and insisting she would not be bullied. Later at the evening meeting, Commissioner Julie Rogers admonished Moore, reading from the board’s code of conduct, that such behavior was not suitable.
By then, the confrontation had been posted on Facebook.
Moore was unapologetic, saying she was just defending herself. She also blamed it on the tension caused by the emotions generated by the debate over Line 5.
