Caldwell Councilmember Expresses Frustration Over Public Criticism
By Greg Pruett • April 12, 2025Caldwell City Councilmember Brad Doty took time at an official government meeting to blast public criticism levied at the mayor and city council, shocking some Caldwell residents.
During a city council meeting on February 18, 2025, Doty criticized a school district employee, Eric Phillips. He did not name Phillips directly but referenced a Facebook group run by Phillips called “Caldwell, Idaho Community and Crime.” The group has over 24,000 members and thousands of posts.
Doty’s comment came during a discussion about School Resource Officers. Caldwell has been without an SRO for nearly a year after a failed levy in May 2024. All SROs were removed following the end of the school year, and the schools remain without one as of this writing, but they have contracted with some security guards to provide protection.
After the meeting, some citizens raised alarm bells because of Doty’s message during the meeting, in which he disapproved of being criticized. After Wagoner was done discussing the SRO issue, Doty chimed in and said:
“I also have an issue that I’ll bring up when the time’s appropriate, about the head security guard there and his criticism of this council and his allowance on his personal page that allows people to criticize this council and talk about us being ‘on the take,’ like we’ve heard tonight. And though he may not say it directly, he certainly does not do anything to stop that type of rhetoric.
So I also have that concern, that the head security guard there is hypercritical of this council and the decisions we make, which would then maybe, if my children went there would cause me some huge concern. So, in addition to what you have already said, I don’t need to reiterate that, but we also can’t have a head security guard that questions how this council is operating, and our ethics, and criminal activity that he believes is occurring.”
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Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner thanked Doty for his comments, and the conversation moved on from there. Wagoner did not rebuke or disagree with Doty’s comments but thanked him for them.
Idaho Dispatch spoke with Phillips, who says he has retained legal counsel. Phillips advised us that he is speaking on his own behalf and not on behalf of any government entity or his workplace.
In response to Doty’s comments, Phillips said,
“In July of 2021, I started Caldwell, Idaho Community and Crime, to help downtown businesses share information about their restaurants and shops as we were coming out of Covid lockdowns.
I never imagined the page reaching over 24,000 members, but I appreciate all that have joined. If you truly look at the page, the majority of the posts are reposts from local businesses, local events, and topics going on in Caldwell.
I was truly shocked to hear not only the incorrect statement about what I do for a living but also the defamatory statement insinuating that I’m a danger to people because others have made comments while simultaneously stating that I don’t make the comments myself.
If you look at other community pages and even government pages, many of the same comments are made. I’ve stated multiple times on the page that members are free to flag comments or posts. The CC&C team will review the flag to see if it violates our rules.
I support the First Amendment, and the page is a place for the community to post Caldwell things within the rules of Facebook and the page.”
Phillips told Idaho Dispatch he is a 20-year Navy veteran with a tour of duty in Iraq. He spent seven years as an SRO himself and has been involved with policing in Caldwell for over 15 years. He said he takes his duty to protect citizens and kids very seriously.
Did Doty call for Phillips to be fired when he said, “but we also can’t have a security guard…?” Is an SRO being withheld from the school district because of Phillip’s employment?
Idaho Dispatch contacted Doty for comment, but no response has been provided at the time of this writing.
Doty, three other council members, and Mayor Jarom Wagoner are all facing a recall this year as signatures are gathered around the city.
You can listen to Doty’s comments yourself below:
Tags: Brad Doty, Caldwell, City Council, Eric Phillips, Jarom Wagoner, School Resource Officer, SRO
The case against public education continues to build. It is not safe for children physically, mentally, intellectually or emotionally. Time to end it and move on.
Sounds like typical tyrants. Even here in Weiser it’s no different, they all stick together. The corruption at all levels of government has honestly turned me into an anarchist anymore. I’m not a corporation, the federal government IS a foreign corporation, and statutes aren’t laws, statutory regulations only apply to corporations, and they do not abide by the actual laws of the land. They forget they are our employees, and we are not their slaves. I’m so sick of the government both locally and nationally. It’s not even the legal government anymore according to the actual law..
Sounds to me like the citizens of Caldwell already have things under control by recalling a bunch of politicians. Vote them out if they don’t listen to you!
Apparently those who CHOOSE to run for office and get elected believe they are IMMUNE from criticism? It’s happening all over the country. Sadly, they FORGET that they are supposed to REPRESENT the citizens, not lord their position over them. SOMEONE needs to give them a lesson on the CONSTITUTION and remind them that they CHOSE this position and they will NOT make everyone happy so get over it. We have RIGHT TO CRITICIZE.