Johnson's farewell speech a reminder to treat one another with respect
Barely 10 minutes into the first Cheyenne City Council meeting of 2025, Richard Johnson showed everyone in attendance and those watching online how not to conduct yourself as a leader.
During a meandering 22-minute speech, the now former Ward 3 councilman who lost his reelection bid last fall complained about how he was treated during the past four years. He took potshots at fellow elected officials, his critics and average Cheyenne residents alike. He made blanket statements about how there’s “not going to be a lot of changes” in the capital city in the next four years, and how the city’s voters made it clear they want to go back to “a nice, quieter 1950s motif.”
He did all of this while wearing a bright yellow T-shirt with a childishly inappropriate sexual innuendo.
It would be easy to dismiss this embarrassing display as the rantings of a bitter individual who lost an election he felt he should have easily won. In fact, we discussed whether it was worth more than a quick “thumbs down” or even worth discussing at all.
In the end, we decided Mr. Johnson’s display of personal pettiness gave us a chance to address both how some public officials conduct themselves these days, and how we, as citizens, should interact with those we elect to represent us. Because, buried in his often cringy presentation are some ugly truths — truths we need to confront and try to correct.
It’s clear to anyone who saw it that Mr. Johnson’s presentation may have been written out in advance, but it was far from appropriate. Sure, it fits with his longstanding propensity for nontraditional behavior. Through two separate four-year terms, Mr. Johnson was always the “anti-establishment” councilman, someone not afraid to say what he thought, and who represented the “common person,” rather than someone comfortable in a suit and tie, glad-handing bigwigs at social functions.
In fact, Mayor Patrick Collins noted that fact during his remarks of appreciation before Mr. Johnson’s speech, saying, “He represents a group of people many of us don’t get to talk to on a regular basis, and that makes our City Council stronger.”
The speech also contained some important realities about Cheyenne: Some residents do, indeed, want to turn back the clock, prevent growth and keep the city from becoming too much like its neighbor to the south, Fort Collins, Colorado. Money from the state may, in fact, be in jeopardy based on budget cuts that could result from additional property tax reductions proposed by new leadership in the state Legislature. And sure, some people would rather complain about the way things are than donate or volunteer to make things better. But when hasn’t that been true?
He’s also not the only person on the dais that day who has made speeches or off-the-cuff comments that many would consider embarrassing or inappropriate. After all, elected officials are people, too, which means they’re not perfect. They can get emotional. They can wear their egos on their sleeves. And they can resort to lashing out when they’re knocked back on their heels, taking rude verbal abuse.
During his speech, Mr. Johnson shared that for “185 days straight” he was told that he was Hitler for proposing a contentious human rights/anti-bias crimes ordinance that the mayor called “the most important piece of legislation he wrote and our governing body passed.” No one deserves to suffer such verbal abuse, and if we want good people to serve in these roles — often with very little or no pay — we need to treat them the way we want to be treated.
The unfortunate reality of the modern world, though, is that those who previously would have groused about an elected official with their buddies at the coffee shop now get online and flame them on social media or via email or text message. More than ever before, elected officials have to be able to dismiss such behavior without taking it personally.
As we dive into another year sure to be filled with differences of opinion about a wide range of issues, we call on our fellow citizens to engage in civil, open-minded dialogue — and for elected officials to respond in kind. Good or bad, public officials are role models, and people look to them for cues about acceptable behavior.
Whether at the local, state or national level, we want our leaders to exhibit the best traditions of professionalism and decorum.
We hope history will reflect positively on the good work Mr. Johnson did during his time on the council. With up to $3 million raised for such community projects as the Depot Plaza splash pad, the skate park, a universal playground, the Vernon Baker statue and many other projects to support our military service members, not to mention his countless hours updating and improving city code, city residents should thank Mr. Johnson for his service.
Unfortunately, his farewell address makes that more difficult than it should be.