Shawano County supervisors rejected the recommendation of the ethics committee and voted 16-11 to allow Lowel Hammett to remain on the county board.
Just minutes before, supervisors voted 20-7 to have Hammett removed from the ethics committee.
The votes were taken after about 30 minutes of discussion and audience participation at the Dec. 17 meeting of the county board.
Hammett, found guilty of violating the county ethics code, said he was startled by the vote to keep him on the board.
“I was getting ready to leave,” he said. “Actually, when the first vote took place, I thought that one was for the county board. I’m happy.”
Hammett said he won’t seek reelection in the spring but will serve out his term.
County Board Chairman Tom Kautza, who was accused by Hammett, some supervisors and area residents of plotting to remove Hammett, had few comments after the meeting.
“You guys know how stupid this is. It’s just ridiculous,” he said. “If he would have just came and provided us with the information … but he refused to. He wanted to make a big dog and pony show. So be it.”
Board discussion
Supervisor Randy Young, a member of the executive committee, said he was offended by Hammett’s comments that his concerns were brushed aside.
“Mr. Hammett came with another individual into closed session,” he said. “They told us they had sworn statements, they had video recordings, they had tape recordings. We said, ‘Bring that information forward.’ I told them I would 100% back them if they could show me the proof. They never brought information back, and then he came to this board and said he came to the executive committee and got stonewalled, which is 100% incorrect.”
Young added that if Hammett was unaware of any process or policy, he should have asked. Also, Hammett’s prepared statement given to supervisors prior to the meeting indicated no accountability on his part.
“I was willing to help him, but instead, he wanted to throw me under the bus,” Young said.
Supervisor Kathy Luebke suggested the board should follow the committee’s recommendations.
“This county board works on the committee recommendations,” she said. “Our ethics committee had a tough, tough job to do. I believe they had numerous closed sessions. They were given everything they needed to make their decisions. They forwarded to us their recommendation. To be fair to them, I think we need to agree with their decisions.”
Supervisor Lynn Tober-Steinke said she was hard-pressed to connect the dots of what she read of the ethics committee’s deliberations and a decision to remove Hammett from the county board.
She also questioned whether this should be discussed in closed session, as she saw it as a personnel matter, and wondered what could have been done to avoid getting to this point.
“It could have been avoided when the first accusations were made if somebody would have came and presented their evidence, but they didn’t,” Kautza said. “And we all know who that is.”
Hammett had several barbs for Kautza.
“When we went to the ethics committee, you dropped three f-bombs … and you pushed some papers around and you more or less threw us out of there,” Hammett said. “And the reason we didn’t give you all that stuff is because it had already been through there. Everything but Jeff Brunson’s testimony had been through there. You’d seen it all, you’d read it all, and it got thrown in the garbage.”
Hammett also pointed out that he doesn’t live here, is not from the area, doesn’t have extended family in the area and didn’t go to school in the area.
“I don’t have a horse in this race at all,” he said. “And if you want to throw me out, I’ll say goodbye and we’ll be done.”
Kautza tried to interrupt with a question.
“No, I’m talking, and you’re going to let me talk this time,” Hammett said. “You can ask the question when I get through speaking. How about that?”
When Hammett was done, Kautza quipped, “In your statement you just made right now, you said you don’t live here, Lowel. How did you get on the board if you don’t live here?”
After the vote to remove Hammett from the ethics committee passed, Supervisor Joe Miller said supervisors should not be on the committee to investigate one of their own.
Kautza said rules are being proposed to make the committee all citizen members.
“I’m going to let his constituents decide his fate. We didn’t appoint him to the board; he was elected to the board,” Miller said about the vote to remove Hammett from the full board. “I cannot in good faith vote to remove Lowel from the county board. I’m reading between the lines so many times and hearing so many things, I think the process that was set forth here … it was my impression the deck was stacked against him.”
Residents speak out
Three county residents and state Rep. Elijah Behnke spoke to the board on Hammett’s behalf. A few of them accused Kautza of a personal vendetta against Hammett.
“Your county board chairman, Tom Kautza, is the one who caused all of this and is wasting your time and county money again,” said Richard Kucksdorf, of Bonduel.
He pointed to County Treasurer Deb Wallace’s early retirement.
“She had serious concerns about how county money was being handled, moved around without your vote,” Kucksdorf said.
He said Kautza and executive committee members were aware of others who left county employment and their dissatisfaction with county leadership. The committee brushed aside those concerns, he said.
Tim Steffen, of Bowler, questioned how Hammett’s concerns about county funds and employee concerns “morphed into full-scale warfare” against him.
“While his procedure may have been awkward, his intention to fix the problems was not,” Steffen said. “The board chairman, former county administrator, former county clerk retaliated by filing ethics complaints against Supervisor Hammett and, in doing so, damaged and defamed him.
“The committee’s written report, dated Nov. 13, reaches for an ethics code to fit the circumstances of their accusation. Rather than address the issues presented, they have turned on the messenger.
“If Supervisor Hammett is removed from this board by your vote, you will be condoning and accepting the behavior of the board chairman acting through the ethics committee as an acceptable way to deal with a supervisor with whom he disagrees.”
“Anyone else care to take a shot?” Kautza then asked.
Thomas Oster, of Shawano, said all first-time supervisors face a learning curve, but the choice of whether Hammett stays on the board should rest with his constituents.
Behnke said Hammett was among the first in the area to vet him as a candidate and offer support.
“He was a vital influence in getting rid of your former state rep, which I think a lot of you guys were embarrassed to have that stain on your community,” Behnke said.
He called Hammett a good friend and thanked him for his help.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
