Civil Rights Commissioner Letter
Civil Rights Commissioner Letter
Dear Ms. Bribriesco-Ledger, Ms. Garrett, Ms. Shawver, and Mr. Hahn:
Effective immediately, pursuant to Iowa Code §372.15 and the authority granted to me
as Mayor under Davenport Municipal Code Chapters 2.06 and 2.58, I am hereby officially
removing you as a Commissioner from the Davenport Civil Rights Commission.
Some of the reasons I am taking this action are set forth hereinafter (applicability to
individual commissioners may vary).
1. You participated when the commission went into closed session on August 1, 2018
with attorney Mike Meloy to discuss initiating litigation against the City of
Davenport. The Davenport Civil Rights Commission is not a separate legal entity
apart from the City of Davenport such that it has the ability to sue or be sued, thus
the commission lacked the authority to spend the taxpayer’s money on an attorney
with the intent to litigate with the City of Davenport. This activity fails to comply
with sound fiscal policy, the commission’s spending authority and Iowa open
meeting law.
2. You participated when the commission went into closed session on September 11,
2018 with attorney Mike Meloy for the purpose of discussing litigation against the
city and/or employment contracts for DCRC staff. As stated, the DCRC does not have
the ability to sue the City of Davenport. In addition, all commissioners and the
lawyers involved should have known that most of the DCRC staff are members of the
AFSCME union and covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Therefore, the
commission committed a prohibited practice under Iowa law by negotiating
employment contracts for DCRC employees outside of the state proscribed time
period and method. Additionally, the commission lacked all power and authority to
obligate the City of Davenport to perform in satisfaction of the terms of the
negotiated employment agreements. This should have been obvious to all because
the City of Davenport negotiating team was not involved in the negotiations or even
informed of the discussions. This activity fails to comply with sound fiscal policy, the
commission’s ability to contract, Iowa labor law, and Iowa open meeting law.
3. You participated in a special meeting on February 4, 2019 and went into an illegal
closed session with attorney Mike Meloy. The closed session was illegal for many
reasons. One, the agenda stated it was for litigation which the DCRC could not
initiate against the city. Two, during the open meeting it was stated that the reason
for the closed session was to discuss the validity of the December 12, 2018
appointments to the commission which is not something the DCRC is empowered to
determine or a valid reason for a closed session. Three, the commission discussed a
resolution during the closed session which is not something the commission could
do in closed session. Four, the commission allowed three people who were no
longer commissioners to participate and vote during the meeting and closed session
while excluding the December 12, 2018 appointees from participating or voting. All
of this occurred in spite of the fact that you were advised by an assistant city
attorney that if you went into a closed session it would be an illegal closed session
and you could be civilly sanctioned for doing so.
The resolution was voted on and adopted despite not appearing in advance on the
meeting agenda.
Attorney Mike Meloy, purportedly representing the DCRC, stood before the
Davenport City Council on the evenings of August 1 and August 8, 2018 and
expressly stated that the mayor and city council did have the very authority that was
exercised by them in making the December 12, 2018 appointments.
This activity fails to comply with sound fiscal policy and Iowa open meeting law.
4. The open records request made by the city’s legal department on February 12, 2019
has received no response whatsoever despite several inquiries and remains
unfulfilled to date. As commissioners it was your responsibility to make sure that
your director and/or staff complied with the requirements of Chapter 22 of the Iowa
Code and provided the information.
5. You have aided and abetted Susan Greenwalt, Helen Roberson, and Clyde Mayfield,
who have no authority to do so, to falsely claim to be or to assume to act as
appointed commissioners of the DCRC in violation of Iowa law.
6. You have willfully prevented Lee Gaston, Patricia Hardaway, and Randy Moore from
performing their duties as duly appointed and affirmed commissioners of the DCRC
in violation of Iowa law.
7. You have actively participated in numerous violations of Iowa’s Open Meetings and
Open Records laws.
8. Your actions are detrimental to complainants whose cases now come before
unauthorized individuals pretending to be commissioners.
9. I attempted to contact all four of you in order to discuss this matter and your
continued service. Commissioners Hahn and Shawver followed through and met
with me. I attempted to convey the basic problem of the course the commission has
charted. This meeting resulted in the letter being sent out from myself and the
Council asking you four to correct course and allow Commissioners Gaston,
Hardaway, and Moore to participate and no longer be prevented from carrying out
their service. Your response is, at best, unfortunate.
10. You were provided with the opportunity to seat Commissioners Gaston, Hardaway,
and Moore at the regular monthly meeting on April 9th, and you choose not to do so.
It is irrefutable that Commissioners Hahn and Garrett were available to meet. Only
four members are necessary for a quorum.
11. Your course of behavior lacks respect for representative government and the rule of
law. It is at once shocking and disappointing that individuals entrusted to oversee
civil rights would engage in this behavior. You unbelievably took the stand that the
commission determines its own membership.
12. The Mayor appoints, the Council confirms, and the individuals so appointed and
confirmed are the rightful commissioners and should not be impeded from serving.
Not unsurprisingly, nowhere in the city code will you find, “The Mayor appoints and
the Council confirms subject to the approval of the commission.”
For these, and additional reasons related to open records and open meetings violations,
you, individually and collectively, are hereby removed as a commissioner of the Davenport Civil
Rights Commission.
You are notified that pursuant to Iowa Code §372.15 you may request, in writing,
submitted to the Davenport City Clerk, within thirty days of the mailing of this letter, the ability
to appear before the Davenport City Council to express yourself on the issues connected with
your removal. If so requested, said opportunity will be afforded to you within thirty days’ of
the date your request has been filed with the Davenport City Clerk unless you request a later
date.
Sincerely,
____________________
Frank Klipsch, Mayor
In support: