WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — UPDATE: This meeting has been canceled due to a lack of quorum. It’s unclear when the Board will meet again.
The Wausau Ethics Committee is set to meet Monday afternoon regarding a complaint filed against Alder Deb Ryan.
Monday’s meeting is the second step in a multi-step process that will answer questions about how the investigation will be handled, who will conduct it, and the timeframe for the investigation.
The group is also agendized to set further discussion in the matter.
Ryan is accused of making defamatory statements against William Harris and accusing him of providing illegal advice to Mayor Katie Rosenberg regarding the community for all resolution. Harris also accuses Ryan of trying to get him fired from his position with Wisconsin Judicare and also threatening other employees at the firm.
Those accusations played out last summer, and Harris had promised to drop the complaint if Ryan provided a public apology. That never materialized, and Harris moved forward with the complaint.
The three sitting members of the committee- Doug Hosler, Robyn DeVos, and Brian Mason will be joined by Madison-based Attorney Ted Waskowski, who is handling the case for the city. Hosler is serving as acting chair for the committee.
Three members are the bare minimum for a quorum on the Ethics Board, and all three must vote unanimously to move the action forward in the case.
A fourth member of the board, Calvin Dexter, has recused himself because he helped circulate nominating petitions for Harris as he is running for a seat as a Marathon County Judge this spring.
