Nina Cobb
Nina Cobb tells citizen to go to hell
Nina Cobb Killeen Mayor Pro Tem was asked to leave the dais Tuesday after a heated exchange with a resident during the Killeen City Council meeting, at which the council discussed an upcoming public hearing on vape regulations.
Michael Fornino, who has repeatedly initiated terse exchanges with council members and Mayor Debbie Nash-King, yelled at the mayor for much of his allotted time from the podium.
He continued yelling from the back of the council chambers, to which Cobb responded, “Go to hell!”
Fornino then laughed and yelled, “Gotcha, B—–!”
Nash-King then asked Cobb to leave the dais and told Fornino to leave the chambers.
After a brief break by the council, Cobb came back to the dais and apologized for what she had said.
Fornino was not allowed to come back to the council chambers.
The row began during citizen comments when Fornino attempted to link the purchase of vape products by underage people to the city’s voter-approved marijuana decriminalization ordinance, Proposition A, which Nash-King said was off topic.
“This is all related to the issue. Do I want kids having vapes? No,” Fornino said. “You want to act like you have some sort of supreme authority and mandate which you do not.”
Fornino said he had “nothing to lose” because he wasn’t running for elected office.
After gaveling Fornino down several times, Nash-King ultimately allowed Fornino to finish his comments. But when Cobb attempted to respond, Fornino cursed at her before leaving.
After apologizing, Cobb said she has been harassed for three years, including people taking photos of her home.
“I was wrong and I was unprofessional,” Cobb said. “But I will protect the city, this council, this mayor any day of the week. I see the hard work. I see what they stand for.”
Nash-King also apologized to the residents during the council meeting.
She told the Herald afterward that she believed Fornino was mounting a “political attack” against her and that Fornino was trying to get a rise out of her.
“He wants me to react. But I won’t react,” Nash-King said, explaining she believed it was a “thin line” between enforcing decorum and protecting freedom of speech. “I know everybody thinks the mayor can put everyone out because I have the authority to do it, but I must follow the law.”
Nina Cobb
Mayor Pro Tem.
District #3
(254) 317-1641
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