The mayor of Marathon was caught on a hot mic making vulgar remarks about a resident during a council meeting.
“She’s a f****** c***,” Marathon Mayor Debra Struyf is heard saying.
Wendy Bonilla, the woman the mayor was referring to, spoke with 7News about what led up to the potty-mouthed remark on Tuesday.
She said it happened during a discussion between Struyf and the vice mayor about real estate transactions.
“When I walked away, the vice mayor apparently said, ‘What, is Wendy starting already?’ Like I was giving him a hard time. She says, ‘No, that’s Wendy. She’s a f****** c***,'” said Bonilla. “I just don’t think this is right.”
The vice mayor can then be heard telling the mayor her harsh outburst was picked up by the microphone.
“Hey, hey, hey, look! Your thing’s [inaudible],” the vice mayor tells her, gesturing toward the mic.
Though she’s aware people can speak that candidly in other settings, Bonilla was bothered by the mayor using that insulting tone during a council meeting.
“If I was in a bar, it’d be one thing, but we’re in a city council meeting where there’s supposed to be a little bit more ethics,” said Bonilla.
7News spoke with Struyf over the phone to ask why she would direct such vulgar language at a resident during a city hall meeting.
“I really wasn’t thinking and I apologized,” said Struyf.
She made a point to address the incident in a Facebook post, apologizing for her comment.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am that that came out of my mouth,” said Struyf.
Struyf, who is also a former friend of Bonilla’s, also said she’d be open to apologizing to her in person.
“If she would like to come to the city meeting, I’d be happy to,” said Struyf.
The mayor suggested that Bonilla had aimed her own uncouth comments at her just moments before her ill-advised insult.
“I had no idea why she had to be so derogatory with me at the dais when I was getting ready to go home,” said the mayor. “I’ve been called that probably a few times, even by her, but it’s OK.”
Speaking on their past friendship, Bonilla said that no level of familiarity with residents makes it acceptable for an official to belittle others like that.
“She thinks that because we were friends in the past that you can talk to me that way? Not on the dais, you can’t. It’s just wrong,” said Bonilla. “She needs to watch what she says.”
During the phone call with Struyf, the mayor also expressed an apology to the residents of Marathon, and she deeply regrets her hurtful comments.
