‘No longer aligned’: Social media posts show rift between Henderson city councilwomen

In a photo posted to the city of Henderson’s Facebook page, City Council member Carrie Cox, flanked by six other people including the city’s mayor and another councilwoman, is holding a shovel and smiling at the groundbreaking for a new athletic facility to be built in the city.

But in a photo of what appears to be the same scene that was posted to Councilwoman Monica Larson’s Facebook page, Cox is nowhere to be seen.

In the space where Cox had been standing in front of a banner, the banner appeared, but with gibberish symbols in the place of words.

Larson, whose page is denoted as an elected official operated by the committee to elect Monica Larson, could not be reached for comment. Larson’s 2024 campaign spokeswoman, Liz Trosper, also declined to comment, but emphasized that the photo posted by Larson is a different image from what was posted by the city.

The two versions of the same photo, taken at a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new athletic facility in Henderson and posted to social media in May, appear to illustrate a deepening divide between Larson and Cox.

After speaking to media on May 21 to tout a planned multi-million dollar youth sports complex, city officials including Cox and Larson gathered alongside mayor Michelle Romero, councilman Jim Seebock and project developers for a photo opportunity at the construction site.

The seven subjects pictured each were given a white hard hat and gold shovel, and were instructed to dig into a pile of gravel, while a blue banner that read “GAME ON — THE FUTURE BEGINS HERE” draped between two Caterpillar work trucks in the background.

One version of the image was posted to the official City of Henderson Government Facebook page, all seven in frame.

But a version posted by Larson, posted a little more than three hours after the event was held, Cox was not in the image, and in her stead was an empty gap, with the script of the banner in the background with nondescript garble.

Nearly three weeks later, on Jun. 8, Larson posted again to her public Facebook page of what appeared to be a written memo telling readers to be advised that Larson is “in no way affiliated or aligned with Carrie Cox,” and that she does not share the same “integrity, character or values.”

“Her (Cox’s) continued actions and behaviors are not aligned with my values or morals,” Larson wrote in the description of the Jun. 8 image. “In my opinion her disregard for truth and others is incorrigible. It is also my prayer and opinion may she find salvation, repentance and deliverance to restore her soul.”

Cox could not be reached directly, but when campaign spokeswoman Lisa Mayo-DeRiso was asked if she believed Larson’s comments damages Cox’s ability to work with colleagues or on behalf of the city, Mayo-DeRiso told the Review-Journal in a statement that Cox is focused on serving constituents.

“The large amount of support she has in the community allows her to get her job done at city hall,” Mayo said in an emailed message.

Others mum

Neither Romero, Seebock or councilman Dan Stewart responded to the Review-Journal’s requests for comment.

In a statement, city spokeswoman Madeleine Skains said the city does not operate councilmembers’ social media pages, and that the city has neither an established policy for council member conduct on social media nor do council members receive social media training.

Last year, the city voted 4-1, with Cox as the lone abstention, to adopt a new policy that outlines rules and limitations for the city elected officials, which ranged in their role in city functions to interactions with media and conduct during meetings. It is now the city’s policy that the mayor is the default city spokesperson, and the policy directs council members to coordinate with the city’s public information office before speaking publicly on city matters.

And while the city’s privacy policy does not appear to outline acceptable social media behavior, the city’s social media terms of use provide that views and comments expressed on official social media channels “reflect those of the comment’s author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the City, its elected and appointed Officers and Employees or its departments and agencies.”

Cox and Larson history

Cox was sent a “cease and desist” by Romero’s attorneys in January amid claims that Cox had spread “spurious rumors” about a purported extramarital affair. The letter denied any affair and accused Cox of making false and defaming statements about the mayor, and Cox in her response denied defaming Romero but said she could not respond to the retraction request meaningfully because it lacked any specific alleged statements made by Cox.

Larson began her first four-year term in January after unseating embattled incumbent Dan Shaw despite Shaw’s hefty fundraising advantage. While the two had their campaigns managed by Mayo-DeRiso, Larson began distancing herself from Cox almost immediately after taking office.

At her swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 7, Larson made comments similar to her Facebook from Sunday.

“There has been a narrative that’s been spun that I’m ‘in alignment’ with another councilman — let me be emphatically clear that is not correct,” Larson said. “I ran this race because God told me to run this race. I am no one’s token. I have my own voice, my own decisions. And despite that narrative that’s been shared, I want to dispel that lie now.”

As recently as last month, tensions between Larson and Cox could be observed at city council meetings.

During a May 20 meeting, council members were deliberating on whether to reject a so-called bid protest for a utility replacement project with Menichino Construction, LLC. The city attorney’s office had recommended the council reject the bid protest, but Cox was requesting a deeper explanation over how the city attorney’s office had reached that conclusion. After receiving an explanation from Assistant City Attorney Wade Gochnour, Cox eventually voted with the rest of the council to pass the measure unanimously, but not before Larson interjected in the exchange to criticize Cox.

“At the last bid protest meeting you were absent for, I think you were on vacation, or I’m not sure,” Larson said. “There were attorneys here debating the same thing.”

Cox responded: “Actually, I think I was present, but thank you.”

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X. or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.