Mayor Bob Ryan: Censured

In a unanimous vote by the Sheboygan Common Council on Tuesday night, Mayor Bob Ryan was censured.

He seemed to be OK with that.

From the Sheboygan Press:

Bob Ryan became the first mayor censured by the Sheboygan Common Council in 19 years on Tuesday night, as aldermen voted, 15-0, to formally reprimand him over sexually vulgar comments he made about his sister-in-law in a drunken video taken while he was in a Sheboygan tavern that was later posted on YouTube.

"I'm glad it's over with," Ryan said to reporters after the meeting. "The idea was to accept the censure this evening, do it hopefully with some dignity and to move our city forward. That was the reason I accepted it, and to tell you the truth, I cannot say that I don't deserve it, and I'm looking forward to putting this chapter behind us and I'm looking forward to moving forward."

Ryan could have challenged the censure under city statute, but decided against asking for a quasi-judicial hearing, which could have taken several weeks.

The council moved to censure Ryan after aldermen voted, 11-5, on Oct. 6 against a resolution asking Ryan to resign because of the video, which was taken by someone with a cell phone at Brennan's tavern, and later put on the Internet.

The resolution called for censuring Ryan "due to the embarrassment his recorded actions have caused the residents of Sheboygan and to the office he now holds."

...Ryan is also facing allegations from former Human Resources Director Angela Payne that the mayor fired her after she refused his sexual advances, but those allegations are not mentioned in the censure resolution.

On Tuesday night, the aldermen also voted, 15-0, to reject a written complaint from 52 city residents who were demanding that the council alderman remove Ryan from office over the video and for causing "the biggest scandal in the history of Sheboygan."

City Attorney Steve McLean filed an opinion with the council that he believes the citizens' action was too vague and failed to meet the state requirements needed for a complaint. He said the complaint lacked the "written verified charges" required by state statute, likening it to a petition.

Politically, Ryan seems to have survived the fall-out from the YouTube clip that rocked Sheboygan and provided plenty of fodder for comedians on the national stage.



Ryan dodged this bullet but he still faces the allegations of sexual harassment from Angela Payne.

Ryan has a long way to go on his road to redemption.