STARKVILLE — An alderman has stoked controversy on social media this week after he announced starting a GoFundMe page to help unvaccinated city employees and later liked a social media status that implied desired violence against Mayor Lynn Spruill.

Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver announced the GoFundMe through his Facebook account Tuesday citing support for city employees who choose not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. That post has since been deleted, and The Dispatch could not find a link to the fundraiser by press time.

The board of aldermen approved a vaccine policy Sept. 7, which says city employees who choose not to receive the vaccination will have an insurance increase of $75 per month. Carver, one of two aldermen who voted against the policy, told The Dispatch Thursday he believes employees should not be punished for making their own medical choices.

“I don’t think employees should be penalized for not taking the vaccine,” Carver said.

While Starkville is not mandating the vaccination for city employees, vaccine requirements are not unprecedented. United States President Joe Biden announced last week that all federal employees will be obligated to receive the vaccine, and large corporations will require their employees to be vaccinated as well.

Carver said the GoFundMe has not been created yet, and he does not have a specific date for when it will launch. The inspiration for the fundraising page, he said, came from local businesses and community members wanting to find a way to help city employees who choose their own medical freedom.

Once the page is launched, he said the fundraising goal would be $25,000.

“This is just something the community wanted to do to help local heroes,” Carver said. “… We’re just exploring options to help those employees that feel they don’t have the financial funds to pay for a wellness surcharge.”

The Dispatch attempted to reach board attorney Chris Latimer to see if an alderman raising money privately for city employees was legal, but he did not respond by press time.

Social media post
With discussion of Carver’s GoFundMe creation, several Starkville residents called attention to a copy of a Facebook post criticizing Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill that Carver liked.

“This mayor needs to be replaced as soon as possible,” the post read. “In Mexico, they drag mayors out into the street and drag them behind a car for making stupid decisions.”

After Carver liked the post, a screenshot of it — with the poster’s name redacted — began circulating across Facebook and other social media. In response to a tweet about Carver liking the post, Spruill responded.

“I have been made aware,” Spruill wrote in the Twitter response. “I am sorry that it appears he would advocate or support such behavior.”

Carver told The Dispatch he only saw the first sentence of the post when he liked it. He said he does not agree with many of Spruill’s choices, especially regarding city employees.

“I don’t know if me liking something is valid in a (newspaper) article,” Carver said. “I didn’t even notice the second part of the post.”

Spruill told The Dispatch this morning that she found Carver’s action unacceptable and hopes the alderman unintentionally liked the post.

“I am shocked and saddened that a fellow elected official would find that to be an acceptable response in our country and certainly in our city to differing views on public policy matters,” Spruill said. “That is not who we are in Starkville, and I am hopeful that Alderman Carver unwittingly supported a comment of someone who supports him, not the concept he was espousing.”