Sheboygan drunk mayor

by umer | 10:45 AM in |

Sheboygan drunk mayor
Sheboygan drunk mayor - Mayor faces recall over drinking, Bob Ryan’s days as mayor of Sheboygan, Wis. may be numbered. The town will hold its first recall election on Tuesday, giving voters a chance to ditch Ryan in connection with instances of his drunken behavior that had come to light.Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan is in hot water over his drinking. After an incident that occurred while Ryan was drunk a couple of weeks ago, the Sheboygan City Council is looking to remove the mayor from office. In an unusual move, the council members decided they are the judge and jury instead of working towards a recall election, against the wishes of citizens.

According to Fox 11, Mayor Ryan admitted to a "three-day drinking session" in Elkhart Lake. During his binge, Ryan passed out in a bar and later got into a fight with patrons. Being the mayor of a small town means his or her actions, good or bad, make their way through town quickly. Several citizens wrote letters of complaint to the city council, which in turn asked the mayor to resign. Ryan refused to resign.

During a city council meeting, members of the community spoke against the council's plan. Opinions ranged from the cost of the process is too much money to the process will create a feeding frenzy for media outlets. Members of the council also spoke against the action. Alderman Joel Hammen said, "We're walking down a road that is dangerous. The slope is slippery slope. I can't with a clear conscience vote to recommend that we go any further with this." But Council President Eric Rindfleisch said, "I fear repercussions if we do not act. I fear that we will be facing the situation again. And I fear that at that point in time, because we're close to re-election, that we will not act at that point in time. Now is the time."
The mayor spoke defiantly saying, "...anybody on this council that wants to take me out of office, start your recall, get your signatures, run against me." The council voted 9-6 to move forward. This is not the first time Ryan's drinking put him in hot water.

In October 2009, former Human Resources Director Angela Payne filed a sexual harassment claim against Ryan, alleging unwanted sexual advances. According to the complaint, "Ryan tried to kiss her, repeatedly looked her body up and down and implied he wanted a sexual relationship as the two sat together at the Highland House and later End Zone tavern." The complaint says Ryan made unwanted sexual advances to four other women.

The Payne incident allegedly took place July 9, 2009. After Payne rebuffed his advance, Ryan allegedly became distant and disrespectful. Prior to the incident, Payne received a positive performance review in June of 2009. The mayor fired Payne in August of 2009. The city settled the claim for $310,000.

Although public drunken behavior is unacceptable for anyone, elected officials are held to a higher standard. Whether the mayor thinks he did anything wrong or not, his actions show he is not responsible enough or fit to hold public office. Ryan's transgressions cost Sheboygan $310,000 so far. He needs to resign before he costs them any more.