Gallatin vice mayor defends insulting email to resident during council meeting

Gallatin resident Michael Zinser, who has lived in the community for nearly five decades, voiced opposition to fast-track development and emailed the city council with his concerns. Vice Mayor Craig Hayes responded in a terse message, urging Zinser to “go back into the tree you crawled out of” and asking to be removed from his mailing list. Zinser read the email aloud at a council meeting, prompting Hayes to acknowledge the wording and repeat that he would send it again.

Zinser accused the vice mayor of disrespect and questioned whether citizens were being treated as subjects by an elite council. Hayes defended his record, denying any accusations of taking money from developers and asserting he had never accepted a dime. The dispute highlights tensions in a city that has added roughly 8,000 residents since 2020, swelling from about 44,000 to an estimated 52,000.