When Greeley “Grassroots” Turn to Fistfights

From the Greeley Tribune, reporter Chris Bolin delivers a bizarre dispatch from the front lines of small-town drama. During a recent Greeley City Council meeting – yes, a council meeting, not a cage match – a 71-year-old woman named Mary Monahan allegedly threw hands with a 40-something woman in the hallway after a fiery public comment session about the West Greeley Project. Cops were called. Someone got cited. And Weld County collectively groaned, “What in the Jerry Springer hell is this?”

Monahan is a card-carrying member of “Greeley Deserves Better,” a group currently foaming at the mouth in opposition to the West Greeley Project’s Catalyst entertainment district. Naturally, they claim it’s all just concerned citizenry and grassroots goodness. Spoiler: when someone has to tell you they’re grassroots, they’re usually AstroTurf in disguise.

And right there in the orbit of this political low-budget soap opera? At-large city council candidate Antonio Molina-Haro – Mr. “The Other Woman Was the Aggressor,” and apparently, the guy who thinks shouting down cops is a great campaign move. Smooth.

1310 KFKA obtained this poor Greeley PD officer’s body cam footage – he’s right, he doesn’t get paid enough – and the kid in the blue shirt bouncing around like a paid protester with a cell phone in his hand (they harasseded us!) is the man who wants to be Greeley’s next at-large city council member. Please. Greeley, tell me you’re smarter than this. Careful, the language at THIS LINK is not safe for work.

The Bullet Point Brief

• A city council meeting turned into a senior citizen slap fight when Mary Monahan, 71, and another woman got physical post-meeting. Because nothing says “constructive dialogue” like hallway hand-to-hand.
• Monahan, a member of Greeley Deserves Better, got cited for harassment by Greeley PD and released on-site. No jail time, but lots of side-eye.
• The verbal smackdown in the meeting focused on the Catalyst entertainment district, part of the West Greeley Project – aka the new bogeyman for Greeley’s opposition crowd.
• Antonio Molina-Haro, a candidate for city council (and apparent part-time body language expert), claimed Monahan was being “shoved” and merely “defended herself.” This is the same guy caught cussing out a police officer in the aftermath. Charming.
• Mayor John Gates said he heard the ruckus but didn’t stop the meeting. Translation: “Not my circus, not my cage match.” Poor John. He’s too good of a man to have to put up with these circus clowns.

My Bottom Line

This isn’t just a bad look for Greeley – it’s a neon sign flashing “What the hell is happening here?” Weld County used to pride itself on good old-fashioned values: neighborly respect, disagreement without disgrace, and not having grandma cited for assault in a government building.

But now? Cascadia became the political equivalent of catnip for left-leaning operatives. Cue the dark money, big-city lawyers, and shiny new “grassroots” groups that popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. And wouldn’t you know it? Everyone opposing the project just so happens to be connected. So organic, right?

Monahan’s altercation is the cherry on top of a campaign sundae that’s starting to reek of D.C.-style manipulation. From “Greeley Deserves Better” to “With Many Hands,” to the conveniently packaged candidate Molina-Haro – who shows up at a council meeting and ends up cussing out a cop – this whole operation has the subtlety of a sledgehammer in a library.

Greeley voters, ask yourselves: Is this really what you want? Political theater where the intermission involves police reports? Maybe next time we can hold a steel cage debate in the rec center. Monahan versus The Other Woman, with Molina-Haro as ring announcer.

A Little Deeper – Mary “May” Monahan

71-year-old Mary Monahan, a registered Democrat, is a member of the “Greeley Deserves Better” effort. In fact, she’s not just a random member; she’s one of the campaign’s co-chairs of the petition-gathering effort.

Here’s what the reporting shows:

• According to BizWest (August 6, 2025), Mary “May” Monahan co-chaired the petition-gathering effort for Greeley Deserves Better—that’s the group pushing to put a repeal of the city’s $1.1 billion financing plan (Ordinance 2025-15) on the ballot (BizWest).
• KUNC (June 30, 2025) adds that she was helping lead the signature-gathering effort and even spoke publicly against the financing plan at City Council meetings (KUNC).
• Other coverage refers to her as “May Monahan,” confirming it’s the same person actively involved in the campaign (BizWest) (Google Groups).

To put it bluntly: she’s practically the face of the “grassroots campaign,” not a bystander. She’s leading the charge.

A Little Deeper – Greeley City Council Candidates

As I’ve said before – and I’ll keep saying it because it keeps proving true – this all feels a little too convenient. The supposed “grassroots” opposition to Cascadia smells more like professionally packaged outrage, with a whiff of dark money cologne and out-of-town strategy consultants. Just my gut instinct, of course – but that gut’s been around the political block a few times. And now, suddenly, we’ve got a lineup of shiny new city council candidates all rising like political mushrooms after a manufactured storm. Funny how they all showed up just in time to capitalize on the Cascadia “crisis.” Never let a good one go to waste, right?

(A caveat: My voter list is about a year old. Every time I get one from the Clerk and Recorder, it costs $50. I am overdue to get a new list…)

Tiffany Simmons is running for Mayor – running on transparency around Cascadia; co-hosting a resident town hall specifically on Cascadia. On the affidavit, she left the Political Party blank. Voter rolls indicate she is registered as an Unaffiliated.

Rachelle Tabor is running for Council at Large – has publicly said she’d have voted no on Cascadia (issue appears in her messaging). On the affidavit, she left the Political Party blank. Voter rolls indicate she is registered as an Unaffiliated.

Antonio Molina-Haro is running for Council at Large. He’s the cop cusser featured in the linked video above. He has been very outspoken against Cascadia – in fact, I think it’s his only issue. On the affidavit, he indicated himself to be a member of the Democrat party. As I said, my voter list is a bit over a year old. On my list, he is a registered unaffiliated who lives in Gill. But again, my list is about 14 months old.

Amberleigh Gregor is running for City Council Ward IV – campaigning with an explicit Cascadia focus. On the affidavit, she left the Political Party blank. Voter rolls indicate she is registered as an Unaffiliated.