The Wausau Ethics Board has voted to postpone Wednesday’s hearing of a complaint against Mayor Doug Diny, citing a lack of participation from two key players and a desire to further investigate new developments.
Chair Calvin Dexter said the delay will allow the Board to reopen the investigation, saying City Attorney Anne Jacobson has suggested that as many as five additional individuals could be interviewed for the investigation. “There may well be valuable information they could provide that could assist the Board,” said Dexter. “To conduct additional investigation, to seed additional information from witnesses seems appropriate, but certainly there are arguments on both sides.”
Thus far, the Board’s work has focused on Diny, Jacobson, and City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde. Neither Jacbson nor Bernarde has provided much information to the Board, citing the ongoing investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice into the matter.
Board members also suggested that the pause would allow representatives from both sides to draft a “statement of fact” regarding the case.
The vote was 4-1, with Brian Mason casting the no vote. He also provided a bombshell moment when he moved to dismiss the complaint without prejudice, which would allow it to be brought back after the completion of the ongoing DOJ investigation into the matter. That motion died for a lack of a second. “Given the limited cooperation, legal constraints, and significant resources already expended. I believe the reasonable action is clear. I move that the Ethics Board dismiss the pending complaint against the Mayor without prejudice,” said Mason. “I think we have reached a point where fairness, transparency, and fiscal responsibility all point to the same conclusion- we cannot ethically continue spending public resources on a hearing we cannot complete right now.”
Additionally, Mason noted that he will be stepping down from his seat on the committee at the expiration of his term on Wednesday. “While I understand that legal counsel says I can remain until a successor is appointed, I believe that continuing under these circumstances, these conditions, would not serve the board well. And I don’t think it would serve the public well to continue on after [April] 30th.”
That move will leave the board with four members who can handle the hearing into Diny’s complaint- Calvin Dexter, Doug Hosler. Robyn DeVos, and Jesse Kearns. Member Kay Palmer has recused herself from the proceedings, elevating Kearnes from an alternate role.
The complaint centers on Diny’s handling of a locked, but not yet secured, municipal dropbox, which was left outside City Hall. Bernarde had intended for the box to be installed and opened to receive completed absentee ballots ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election. Diny has said he moved it into his office for safekeeping, noting that anyone could have walked off with it because it wasn’t bolted to the sidewalk.
The Mayor’s opponents believe he broke election law, prompting the investigation by the Wisconsin DOJ and the complaint.
