By Kristin Byrne
Some Sheboygan Common Council members say they feel Mayor Bob Ryan's attorney is trying to intimidate them with a legal letter.
Aldermen have been trying to remove Mayor Ryan since July, after he admitted to a drinking binge in Elkhart Lake.
Now, a letter addressed to city officials and council members has taken emotions over the matter to a new level.
In this five-page letter, the mayor's attorney raises questions concerning the process of removing the mayor, saying if his client's conduct, which he says is unrelated to his job performance, is cause for removal, then, "We would ask for the following: Interviews with each alderperson to discuss their use of alcohol; their conduct with members of the opposite sex; AND their individual investigations of the Mayor's conduct."
Some aldermen don't have a problem with the letter at all, but others call it a scare tactic.
"The gloves are off on their side. On both sides, candidly," Alderman Don Hammond said.
Hammond questions why some of these suggestions are even necessary.
"If people want to ask me about my drinking habits, I'm certainly happy to share it with them, but I don't think it's necessarily germane to this topic," he said.
"Any information that we can get at this point in time is good," Alderman Joel Hammen said.
Hammen told us he has no gripes with the letter. He takes issue with what happened in Wednesday night's meeting, when he says another alderman removed the letters from council members' desks.
"That letter was on my desk. That is my desk, and that information was for me," Hammen said.
So, tensions are still very high among Sheboygan leaders.
In the letter, Mayor Ryan's attorney also says the mayor has rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, because he says alcoholism is a disability.
"It's conceded that Bob Ryan is an alcoholic and is trying to recover from that disease," Ryan's� attorney, Dwight Darrow, said.
In the letter to council members, Darrow points out if those rights are violated, he would recommend filing a claim against the City.
"Bob Ryan, as I made very clear in the letter, has not asserted his right under the ADA. That's his lawyer telling him you have those rights," Darrow said.
Action 2 News contacted the ADA to find out how alcoholism is protected under the law.
Robin Jones, Director of the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center, told us, "An alcoholic is a person with a disability and is protected by the ADA if she/he is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job."
The mayor's job performance, Darrow says, hasn't been the focus of critics; his alcoholism has.
"I'm willing to play by the rules, but the rules should apply equally to everybody," Darrow said.
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