MAYOR BOOKMEYER REVIEW
Op-Ed by Otis Lewis
Mayor Bookmeyer himself is guilty of discrimination and using the power of the Mayor’s office in a tortuous manner. This is a clear violation of the law. No elected official is allowed to use the power of his office in this manner and charges should be brought against him. Mayor Bookmeyer has shown a pattern, using the power of the Mayor’s office to cause harm to others since he has taken office, and I believe is provable in a court of law. Any Mayor can be removed from office when found guilty of these charges in district court. The people of Mason City need to bring these charges against Mayor Bookmeyer!
There have been several others Mayor Bookmeyer has not reappointed or appointed that were more than qualified to serve on the Human Rights Commission over the last 3 years. This has to have been disruptive to the work of the Human Rights Commission
Ms. Gaines is not the first lady or commissioner that Mayor Bookmeyer has mistreated without cause.
A couple of years ago long time Chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission, Kathy Loeckle, was also not re-appointed. At the time Mayor Bookmeyer said she was too old and wanted younger people on the commission.
He also refused to appoint Sandy Servantez, another qualified individual, when her name was submitted by the Human Rights Commission for appointment. There have been others.
When you add up all the mayhem he has caused within the Human Rights Commission it is clearly evident that Mayor Bookmeyer is out to harm the Human Rights Commission.
A REVIEW OF THE MAYOR’s JOB DESCRIPTION IS IN ORDER
Per: Mason City Code:
1-7-1: MAYORS QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES
The Mayor shall be elected at large and shall be the presiding officer of the City Council and shall have and exercise all powers and duties conferred upon him by chapter 372.14, Code of Iowa, and the provisions of this Code. (Ord. 96-26, 12-17-1996)
1-7-2: MAYOR, SUPERVISION OF OFFICERS
(Rep. by Ord. 96-26, 12-17-1996) The Mayor’s Supervisory duties were repealed by ordinance and given to the City Administrator.
Now look at city code regarding the City Administrator: this has been abbreviated.
ARTICLE C.CITY ADMINISTRATOR/CITY CLERK
1-8C-3: ADMINISTRATION AND DUTIES: The city administrator/city clerk shall be the chief administrative officer of the city and shall be responsible to the mayor and city council for the proper administration of all affairs of the city. All departments of the city, except as otherwise provided by ordinance, shall be responsible to the administrator/clerk. The duties of the administrator/clerk shall be as follows: (Ord. 97-29, 11-18-19
In part:
J.-Cooperate with any administrative agency, board or commission of the city and act as technical advisor when applying for grants to enable the mayor, city council, boards and commissions to enhance their funding.
In conclusion:
Mason City has a Part Time Mayor who has overstepped his boundaries and as far as I am concerned guilty of misusing the power of the office of Mayor in a harmful and tortuous manor to cause harm to the Mason City Human Rights Commission.
It is obvious what Mayor Bookmeyer is up to. The latest demand for a report from Ms. Gaines the Mayor requested and bellyaching about, is nothing more than a smoke screen to carry out his personal agenda of harming the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission voted to table the report for further study before submitting it. If some kind of report was needed it should have been requested by the City Administrator. This falls under his job duties not the Mayor’s.
It is time for our local leaders, (i.e.) News Media, Chamber Of Commerce, Doctors, Lawyers, Businessman, and Good Citizens that want a decent city and a government free of discrimination to step forward and speak out to put an end to the Mayor’s harassment of the Mason City Human Rights Commission!
In the absence of any leaders stepping forward, then the citizens should form a Citizens Committee, collect funds, hire an attorney, and bring formal charges against the Mayor in District Court per State Code.
PS: I will throw in $100.00
45 thoughts on “Op-ed: Mayor Eric Bookmeyer uses “power of the Mayor’s office in a tortuous manner””
Otis Lewis is a breath of fresh air and I like following him. I don’t care who he is or where he is from.
QUESTION DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHO OTIS LEWIS IS? THERE IS NOT A LISTING OF ANY OTIS LEWIS IN MASON CITY LET ALONE IOWA. SOUNDS KIND OF FISHY TO ME.
It’s most likely a pseudonym. No one has to use their actual name to post on this site. That’s good and it’s bad. It does make for some interesting dialogue!
It could be an anagram or a fake name.
Anonymous — I am neither “anti-Human Rights” or stupid.
I am against paying for duplicate services. The state already has a presence over on Pierce at the WorkForce office. I doubt it would take much effort to include their civil rights function.
As to whether Mason City’s commission or the state’s is less costly, I doubt either of us knows.
From a recent conversation I had Mason City’s commission refused to disclose its financial details to council – if & how this is the case is unknown to me but should be checked out. And, it this is the case could it be a reason for the Mayor leaning on them?
You are not only lying, you are full of it and yourself.
You are totally against human rights and your excuse of duplicate services are as phoney as you are!
@ 4ever49 Have you ever been to any of the Human Rights Commission meetings?
Please forgive me for being the grammar police. As I read this article, with which I agree in substance I was troubled by the use of the word, “tortuous”.
My first read and reaction was to the implication of the use of torture, but “tortuous” is defined as repeated twists and turns. Both may be true but the meaning is vastly different.
So did the Mayor say out loud to someone that Kathy Loeckle was too old? It seems to me that Dean is at least as old as she is, so how can age be a factor? Same with Lionel. Who replaced Kathy Loeckle?
It is very sad that the mayor saw fit to replace Kathy Loeckle, who had a lot of experience and was willing to serve. I give her a lot of credit for being willing to stay on as a friend after being dumped by the mayor. I also see his replacement of a commissioner as valuable as she rather suspect in this matter. That, along with his treatment of Lionel Foster, gives this entire issue more substance. There are other troubling aspects as well. How aggressively the mayor and council try to save the HR Commission will show their true colors in this matter.
I can see some merit in the argument that the City Administrator should be the one requesting the reports, but how can the Commission vote to withhold a report that has been required? That seems like a pretty risky move when you’re already treading on thin ice. And why didn’t they tell the mayor that they don’t report to him, only the Administrator. Was the mayor overriding the City Administrator’s authority because he had been unsuccessful at acquiring said reports from the Commission? It seems to me the unwillingness to work together goes both ways. You’re right, I don’t attend the meetings, but these are questions that will be asked if there is a hearing of any kind.
Employers should like the HR Commission. I know of people who have called to complain about work issues and have been told in the first phone call that they don’t have a case. That quashes a lot of problems right there.
As far as the services being duplicative, I disagree. It is very inconvenient and expensive for people, especially the employed, to have to travel to Des Moines to be interviewed, give any testimony, etc. Employees should not have to take an entire day off work for this purpose. I’m sure not everything can be done online if a case proceeds. And trying to get rid of the Commission because it makes it too expensive and inconvenient for employees to file complaints or follow through with them is just a horrible thought.
If it is too troublesome to go to Des Moines then an office of the state agency could be opened in the area – perhaps in conjunction with WorkForce who also deals in workplace matters,
That is stupid comment. The State should open an office in Mason City is nonsensical.
Mason City provides this service at much less cost than the State.
If you check out the Mason City Human Rights Commission’s budget you will find two employee’s salaries and about $6,000.00 of local tax dollars for expenses. That is a huge savings for the people of Mason City instead of sending there tax dollars to Des Moines. Besides our tax dollars that are being used are being spent locally!
The rest of the money that is given to the Mason City Human Rights Commission is provided by the State and Federal Government because they like the idea of having the service provided locally and less costly at the local level.
State salaries and expenses are much higher. The longer time frame to resolve issues makes the State Human Rights office efficient.
You probably want that because of your anti Human Rights stand.
Yes Katie,
There were wittiness to the conversation when Mayor Bookmeyer told Kathy Loeckle she was too old.
With an investigation these folks would testify that this was said by Bookmeyer to Ms. Loeckle
She would have a discrimination lawsuit against the mayor right there as long as she wasn’t replaced by a person older than she. Why on earth didn’t she file a claim against him? If she had witnesses, she should have done it. She should never have let him get by with that. I can’t imagine that a position on the commission is exempt from equal rights laws. Does anyone know why she let this go?
I asked her the same question. Ms. Loeckle wouldn’t lower herself to the Mayor’s level. She said she would not get in the toilet with Mayor Bookmeyer.
I respect her for her professional attitude.
A group of Mason City Citizens should take this article by Otis Lewis and mail it to the State Ombudsman’s office and ask for an investigation into all of this.
I’ve been waiting for the Bavis and Buttwhiller Gazette to have their trained monkey Stupid Me try to defend our fireplug mayor. Nothing but the same old bs in their article. If it wasn’t for NIT no one would get any of the true facts.
Ps does anyone know of a good launcher app with spell check for android tablet?
Do you think this would help Otis recognize the difference between “manor” & “manner”?
Now that is the really important part of this article. The spelling police have struck again.
Both words are spelled correctly, Otis chose the wrong word to use half of the time. He should have learned the difference LONG ago as a teenager. If he didn’t, then he is being stupid. If he did, then he is being lazy. If he knew the difference and didn’t care, we should all care as much about what he has to say by not reading his tripe and considering him irrelevant.
errors, whatever kind they are can be a result of many things. large fingers hitting the wrong key on a laptop, a slow computer not accepting a key typed, a persons nationality or way of speaking, someone so frustrated with the stupidity of others that they type way too fast and dont proof read. and many other reasons that others may come up with. to me, I have a problem reading what some people are trying to say. I mark it up to their nationality.
PS. Matt Marquardt is the owner of this site and is the only person that has the right to complain about these spelling errors. leave the police tactics up to the owner. even the chief of police of any town would say “dont take the law into your own hands”. leave it to the authorities.
Second amendment says I can complain about anything I want. And what “police tactics” are you talking about?
2nd amendment?? Does that mean you’ll pull a gun on anyone who doesn’t allow you FIRST amendment rights?
Blame it on that danged spell checker.
Otis
I just wrote a comment that was negative regarding the mayor and the Globe wouldn’t even publish it. AND IT WAS TRUE!
The Globe has always been a censoring, skewing publication. It is not really interested in truth, rather, controlling its readers, what’s left of them. Forget about leaving comments on their web site, your time is much too valuable.
Matt, you are absolutely right. What they need is to be sued for libel. That’d be a slap in the face. Morons.
I am not in for even $1.00.
The Mayor has my support to bring the Commission to an end as it is duplicative of the State’s commission.
You are illogical.
First of all, it is more cost effective to provide this service on a local level.
Second, tax money used to fund Human Rights on a State level is the same tax tax money used on a local level.
In other words, tax money is tax money no matter where it is appropriated and spent.
Your comment tells me you are the kind of person who really don’t believe in Human Rights!
I am “illogical”?
Just because I don’t think we should fund a duplicative commission that makes me someone who doesn’t believe in human right? That is ridiculous on its face.
Please tell us why it is more “effective” to provide this service on a local level?
More “COST” effective effective on a local level.
Less travel costs and wages are lower in North Iowa. It is a known fact that the cost of living in North Iowa is one of the lowest in the State.
The timely resolve of Human Rights issues are also more cost effective when they are done on a local level.
Like I said, you are illogical! Your argument don’t hold up at any level.
You are right! It is not just about cost but about what you get for your money. If we are getting better service for our local citizens in need of it’s services, then it should stay as it is. Once again, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
No, it isn’t. Cities in Iowa with a population of 29,000 or more are required by law to have their own Human Rights Commissions. Now that Mason City has fallen below that, there’s an argument for dissolving this commission, but then people with complaints would have to drive to Des Moines to file them, and probably wouldn’t, which is exactly what they want. Employers don’t want to manage their own managers, who are the cheapest idiots they can hire and who cause most of the problems, and then don’t want the consequences of their behaviour.
Debra – I had not heard of the 29,000 population threshold and that the state mandated a city above that establish and pay for such a commission.
Does the state contribute to the costs of the Mason City commission? If it does not then it’s another unfunded mandate. Given that most can access all sorts of state commissions online filing a complaint should not require a Des Moines trip.
Even more reason to close the local commission.
Awe, duplicated or not. The Mayor ‘s reasoning is self motivated and he has displayed less then honorable behavior.
He lacks empathy and is obnoxious. Is this Cohl , Scott or, John Erickson sr?
You know what Matt?
I love this site. Where else can the people go to get the truth and news is this kind of raw format.
This is FREEDOM at it’s best!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
PS: I am in for $100.00 too!
Thanks Matt, for bring out Mayor’s”anything but honorable” behavior to my attention. Freedom is great. It allows us today to openly discusse productive actions to obtain aproductive solution in expressing to out elected officials “were not gonna take it!” I’m game for $25.00. I also help raise addional funds. I pray let we the people Stop talking and start moving in a positive direction to assure we want good ,just, honorable politicians to represent our city and citizens. Bookmeyer must go.
Torture? That sounds very melodramatic to me. Do whatever you can do for the page hits I suppose.
You think it’s melodramatic for the people the Mayor has shit on?
You think it’s melodramatic for the volunteers on the Human Rights Commission that have to live with the stress that Mayor Bookmeyer has created?
You think it’s melodramatic for the people that count on the Human Rights Commission for recourse?
To them and the citizens of Mason City this is very real!
The opposite of melodramatic is not real. You may want to spend some quality time with a dictionary.
A mayor excercises his rights as mayor and it’s counter to what you’d like and you claim he’s shitting on people?! LOL! FUNNY! I watch all the meetings and what goes on in MC and all I see on this site is a bunch of whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiining. And matt m stalking him.
The entire city council should be enjoined in this proposed lawsuit for it is them who facilitates all of this. Without doubt there should be consequences for dereliction of duty by elected officials.
If a action is brought and moves into court put me down for $250.00
I to will throw in $100.00