Augusta councilman sues City Council

May 27—AUGUSTA — Councilman Ken Hicks is suing the Augusta City Council to hold onto his position, contending that he didn't sign a resignation letter presented to him by Mayor Jason TePaske.

Hicks, 68, who represents the city's Ward 5 on the council, filed the lawsuit on May 17 in Eau Claire County Court to force the city to let him continue serving as an elected official.

The councilman was pressured to resign by TePaske last month, who accused Hicks of citing his title as an elected official during a confrontation with an Eau Claire County sheriff's deputy. The argument between Hicks and the deputy happened on April 18 — a day after the councilman was involved in an alleged road rage incident.

TePaske called the councilman on April 21, asking him to come down to City Hall for a meeting between the two of them, according to Hicks' account.

The mayor presented a typed letter to Hicks explaining why he's being asked to resign. A copy of that letter included in Hicks' lawsuit cites the April 18 conversation with the deputy as the rationale for seeking the councilman's resignation. But TePaske alludes to other incidents as well without specifying details about those occasions.

"This being not the first incident of its kind so unfortunately at this time the city asks for your departure from your position," the mayor wrote.

The letter offered Hicks the option of resigning or facing a public vote of censure by the City Council at an upcoming meeting.

Along with TePaske's letter was a second piece of paper with a brief statement of resignation with a spot for Hicks to sign.

Hicks' legal filing notes that he put his signature on TePaske's letter, but did not sign the separate resignation statement, as shown in copies of those papers included with the lawsuit.

After meeting with the mayor, Hicks spoke with Del Thorson, a local attorney and former Augusta mayor, who advised him that there needed to be a legal cause for a councilman to be removed from office.

"When I initially signed his letter, I was unaware that the mayor and council have no authority to summarily remove any elected official, but could only do so for good cause and in connection with due process procedures," Hicks' legal filing states.

On April 22, Hicks went to City Hall to take the original copies of the resignation documents, but Thorson said he was refused.

In a phone interview with the Leader-Telegram, Thorson said what TePaske accuses Hicks of doing in the letter does not warrant removal from office.

"Merely telling a deputy — who the city does not have supervisory authority over — that you're on the city council isn't sufficient cause," Thorson said.

And Thorson said the resignation was not valid based on requirements in state statutes that apply to city elected officials giving up their positions.

"There was no resignation because it was unaddressed, unsigned," he said.

Anders Helquist, an attorney who represents the Augusta city government, said the city will present evidence showing that Hicks did indeed relinquish his seat.

"Mr. Hicks may regret resigning, but the City believes a legal resignation occurred under state law and that resignation was effective on April 21," he wrote in an email to the Leader-Telegram.

At the next City Council meeting on May 10, Hicks was denied his seat at the table and not given an agenda and other written materials normally provided to officials, according to his lawsuit. The official agenda for the meeting included a closed session discussion for the council to speak with legal counsel for advice on potential litigation involving an alderperson's resignation.

Between TePaske's request for the councilman's resignation and that council meeting, Hicks was charged for allegedly following a couple home and displaying a firearm.

On May 4, the Eau Claire County District Attorney's Office filed a misdemeanor disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon charge against Hicks. At his initial appearance in that criminal case on May 19, Judge Jon Theisen set a signature bond at just $100 for Hicks while the matter is pending.

"This is merely an accusation, and he is presumed by the law to be innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," Ryan Moertel, an Eau Claire attorney representing Hicks in the criminal matter, said in a statement to the Leader-Telegram. "We are confident in our position that Mr. Hicks, a veteran of the United States Military and Concealed Carry Weapon License holder, acted reasonably at all times in this situation to both report a dangerous traffic violation to law enforcement and protect himself from the perpetrator of that violation."

According to the criminal complaint filed against Hicks, he had been driving through the Eau Claire County town of Bridge Creek on the evening of Sunday, April 17. On Highway M near the U.S. 12 intersection, Hicks called the Eau Claire Communications Center to report that a pickup truck had crossed over the centerline and almost hit his vehicle. As deputies drove out to the reported incident, a second call came in from two occupants of the pickup who said a man had followed them home and displayed a handgun.

Two deputies and an Augusta police officer arrived at the home on Baldwin Street in Augusta to see Hicks parked on the street with a handgun visible on his dashboard.

The driver of the pickup truck said that Hicks had tried to drive her off the road and followed her home. Hicks then parked on their street, took out a handgun, showed it to her and her passenger, then put it back in his vehicle, according to the woman's account.

Hicks told deputies he had followed the pickup to get a look at its license plate after nearly hitting his vehicle. After he arrived at Baldwin Street, Hicks said he did display his pistol because the pickup driver was yelling and swearing at him.

The next court date for the misdemeanor case is a hearing scheduled for June 28.

The first court date for Hicks' lawsuit against the Augusta City Council will be a June 7 hearing in Judge John Manydeeds' courtroom.

Helquist intends to file a response brief and supporting documents by June 2. Thorson will have the chance to reply on or before the upcoming hearing.

Thorson hopes that Hicks can be restored to his seat on the City Council by its next scheduled meeting on June 14.