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 by Ord. 96-26, 12-17-1996) The Mayor’s Supervisory duties were repealed by ordinance and given to the City Administrator.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
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.
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?
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.
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?
I just wrote a comment that was negative regarding the mayor and the Globe wouldn’t even publish it. AND IT WAS TRUE!
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 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!
Torture? That sounds very melodramatic to me. Do whatever you can do for the page hits I suppose.
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