"It’s time for residents to say enough is enough, these are our tax dollars being used to run this city into the ground. The Executive Committee made up of Mayor John Dickert, Gregory Helding, Q.A. Shakoor, Sandy Weidner (Ald. Mike Shields sat in for Sandy), Aron Wisneski (Alderman Jim Kaplan sat in for Aron), Ron Hart made the decision that “We the city” and “We the people” should cover all legal fees and any awards regarding the slander suit of Bielefeldt v. Dickert v. Racine.
"Ald. Mike Shields was the only one who voted that the City of Racine SHOULD NOT pay for this lawsuit. We need to contact our aldermen and voice our concerns about paying for Mayor John Dickert’s personal lawsuit. This is not the responsibility of the City of Racine or the hard working people of Racine. Call, email, write and let the elected officials we are not going to stand for this.
"Here’s the link to the City of Racine to locate who your alderman is
Sorry I'm putinng this up late.
I agree with the above article. I believe the City Council may vote on this this coming Tuesday. I've contacted my alderman. Please let yours know how you feel about this, no matter which side you are on.
Posts
4 comments:
One would think this would be cut and dry. Either he was, or was not the mayor when his blunder happened.
If he was mayor... then the city, under the "state law on indemnification” would have to cover it.. which means the lawsuit against the city is only to protect him from being screwed while acting as a public servant.(whether or not he was stupid in his remarks) It has nothing to do with whether you like him or what he did... we are responsible for his ass.
It is my understanding that the lawsuit he is filing is due to the big old question of "was he mayor or simply acting as mayor" and does indemnification work under those circumstances? The courts will have to sort that out, right?
kk, as far as my limited knowledge of law goes, once the city council votes to cover his ass, it won't matter unless someone sues the city over that.
Again, I have very limited knowledge of law - I didn't even watch Perry Mason. Mr. Bielefeldt brought suit against Dickert, but not the city. Normally, when an employee is acting in an official capacity for the city when they commit the supposed violation or act or whatever that may lead to damages, and they are sued, then the city must be notified (if not named as a defendant - I'm not clear about that) of the suit because of their liability. Mr. Bielefeldt's lawyer did not notify the city of the suit, because he says Dickert was not acting in an official capacity at the time he slandered Mr. Bielefeldt.
Dickert went to court saying that because the city wasn't notified, the suit was invalid. A judge ruled otherwise, saying the suit may proceed.
It is my understanding that Dickert then sued the city to cover his ass for his legal fees and settlement/award, if any. But I also thought that Dickert then dropped that suit. I may be wrong.
A couple of people on the Journal Times site have said that Dickert should have been carrying some special type of insurance to cover such situations because it is normal for big shots, private and public, to have it.
Again, I have little knowledge of the legalities, and little faith that we won't end up paying for lying John's lie.
I have met and spoken with Mr. Bielefeldt. Believe me, the last thing he wants to do is soak the taxpayers of Racine for money. That is precisely why he did not include or notify the city in the suit. What Dickert and his pals did to Mr. Bielefeldt is horrible. Shameful. And it continues.
Again, I'm a realist. I believe the city council will cover the mayor's butt, even if we are not legally obligated to do so.
Number one: it's only our money.
Number two: the lie must be maintained at all (of our) costs.
I don't know either party personally. I am not disputing that what happened to Mr. B wasn't very wrong. I guess the "incident" is fairly well documented.
To be honest, I haven't read enough about it. Are you saying the city council is voting to cover his ass even if he wasn't mayor at the time? Is that legal?
I don't proclaim to know law either. I do know that if you work for a school, or in some other jobs, nursing, etc... there is insurance that covers you in case you accidentally injure a child or someone else. That is not personally paid, but comes with the job.
My understanding is that yes, the council will be voting on paying for all of Dickert's costs no matter his official status at the time.
What's "legal" got to do with it?
Post a Comment