In a mostly empty town hall chamber, after a lone person offered public comment calling on the town to pledge protection for constituents from ICE and CBP followed by a hearing on sign regulations, Erie Mayor Andrew Moore looked calm and cool as he began the proceedings to move the meeting to executive session.
“Point of order,” a calm voice interrupted. Addressing the Mayor, Councilwoman Emily Baer continued. “I would like to discuss the town manager’s review in the public meeting rather than in executive session.”
Flustered, Mayor Moore shifted in his seat, turned toward Malcolm asking if this was alright. Malcolm, without batting an eye, responded, “Yes, I’m comfortable with that happening in a public meeting.”
Forty-five minutes later, the gavel restarted the public meeting for a conversation intended to happen in executive privacy. For the second time in the first year of his term, Mayor Andrew Moore would make the case for firing town manager Malcom Fleming.
Previously catching the rest of the town council off guard during an earlier meeting, the decision was made to table the conversation until another time, when the members could be more prepared to make an informed decision.
Erie Town Manager Malcolm Fleming is described in his HR evaluation as one who “often pushes staff to challenge their status quo, which drives innovation, and he’s always open to and excited by new ideas.” (Town of Erie Headshot)
This time, with less than a day’s notice, the council received communication via email from Mayor Moore that they would again be bringing the matter to executive session the following evening. A performance evaluation – referred to as Fleming’s 360 – had been conducted.
Mayor Moore and Mr. Fleming had access to the 360, some members of the council did not until only a few hours before the conversation began, others wouldn’t see the document until the following day.
“He provided us an email about 24 hours before the meeting, and that is not adequate time,” Erie Town Councilman Dan Hoback told Yellow Scene. “The manager’s evaluation did not come from him; it came from the town manager himself. And [the Mayor] kept that in his hip pocket, and he didn’t send it until the next day. The day after the council meeting… I thought that was very underhanded on the part of the mayor.”
Opening the now public conversation, Mayor Moore cited his reasons for why Fleming should be terminated, reading from a statement he’d prepared for his colleagues.
“Leadership by omission – whether intentional or not – creates a situation in which I cannot effectively preside over our meetings. Getting caught off guard on the County Line to Airport Drive visibility scope, the $19M parks and open space facility, the Redtail Ranch information for the public not being disseminated, misinformation about the use of ARPID funds, and council volunteers being excluded from the holiday party are just some of the more recent challenges.”
Erie’s Mayor read for several minutes, first from his email requesting the conversation and then from what would have been his opening address to Council in executive session, concluding that he believed there had been an ongoing lack of communication on Fleming’s part and little else.
“The thing is, see, everything looks so childish now,” Councilman Pesaramelli told Yellow Scene. “He doesn’t have any points because we brought it on the record and not between the four walls [executive session]. In the four walls, when this topic came up,[the Mayor] didn’t have a consensus that Malcolm should be fired… And what would have happened in that four walls is unimaginable.”
“The mayor has wanted to get rid of him now since day one,” Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene Magazine. “He came into office wanting to get rid of him, and I think it is probably because he is ideologically out of alignment.”
Before joining the city staff, Fleming spent over ten years as city manager for Louisville and as interim city manager for Manitou before that. He was appointed to the role in Erie in January 2019
Yellow Scene Magazine obtained a copy of Mr. Fleming’s 360 evaluation, which he said from the dais he was comfortable seeing published. In it we see a portrait of an absolutely adequate employee, referred to as a consummate professional, constantly calm presence, and consistently informed manager.
A screenshot of the first page of the human resources 360 report for colleague feedback for Mr. Fleming.
The anonymous reflections assert that he is knowledgeable, experienced, and committed to exploring every avenue even if it means trying something new. Always room for improvement, it is noted that he sometimes lapses in communication, though regularly producing a cumulative and comprehensive – if delayed – response.
A five out of five star rated employee in “contributing to a positive and inclusive work culture,” he manages a complex system of public and private bureaucracies facilitating connections and the sharing of resources.
“The amount of information that flows from the community, businesses, regional partners and Council is significant and overwhelming at times,” one 360 reflection of Fleming reads. It continues the he should seek improvement in maintaining the flow of information because “this Council is more impatient than others.”
Despite the metaphorical firehose from which he drinks, the HR report speaks of a competent employee with an above average performance and below average need for improvement. One with whom so many in the city find ease in maintaining a professional relationship, Mayor Moore not counted amongst them.
“If things are done for the betterment of the town, I’m all for it,” Councilman Pesaramelli told Yellow Scene. “But when you come with things like erasing DEI or the scare tactics, we can be a model and let other towns know Erie did this. We stood up against national bullying.”
Councilman Pesaramelli, Councilman Hoback, and Councilwoman Baer were upset that Moore came to this conclusion by himself, when council is meant to decide something this important together. When informed there would be a decision made despite protest, the three council members all voted no on terminating Fleming’s position.
“Why is this going into a rush?” Councilman Pesaramelli mused during a followup conversation. “We already talked about it, and there was no consensus from the council for him to move to the next step or do another executive session.”
Some would discuss Mayor Moore’s insistence on adherence only on background, others commented openly on the parallels as they perceived them.
“He keeps saying he’s not MAGA, but he runs Council like he is,” Councilman Dan Hoback said to Yellow Scene Magazine.
A screenshot of Erie Town Manager Malcolm Fleming’s Council Feedback Form, indicating the average of all five members of Erie’s Town Council’s ratings for various professional metrics.
Authoritarian overreach continues to grow as a standard in civics conversations. Federally, the Trump Administration demonstrates the ability for unscrupulous leaders to demand their directors change reports – and disavows those which won’t – to match policy positions. The same tactics some allege are used by Mayor Moore.
“Staff can hear the mayor yelling at Malcolm through the walls even when the door is closed,” reads the 360. “Malcolm stays focused and professional and speaks clearly and directly.”
In line with the strong man caricature some politicians project, complaints continue that Mayor Moore will bully employees, becoming increasingly frustrated when facts don’t fit his narrative, and asserting aggression to accomplish his ends.
“People are hurting. People are afraid of losing their jobs,” Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene. “People are afraid and they don’t want to engage with him.”
When negotiating his most recent contract, Fleming was faced with the difficult decision of forgoing protected severance in exchange for a standard raise. With the possibility that a newly-elected leader with a well-known intention of focusing on raising homeowners’ property value may replace him, Fleming was forced to concede his safety net.
“One of his first courses of action was to basically force Malcolm to renegotiate his contract and lower his severance package, essentially,” Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene. “The mayor said, ‘You will either reduce your severance package from twelve months to six months, or you won’t get a salary increase this year at all.’ Malcolm’s already severely underpaid for our region.”
Under the new contract, Fleming would receive 6-months of his salary, about $182,688, a direct cost to the taxpayers for the town manager’s replacement. Compensated well below the mean for this position, his replacement could start at a salary closer to Longmont’s $242,902 or Lafayette’s $190,800.
Some members of Town Council and Mayor Moore did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
The agenda for Erie’s February 17, 2026 Town Meeting includes an item in the evening’s executive session concerning personnel “pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402(4)(e), concerning the Town Manager’s evaluation and contract”