It must be a weird spot for Hughes, who was hired by Becker and worked closely with the mayor. Now, he's taking the final steps of erasing Becker from the city's employ. Here's the email from Hughes (written Wednesday to City Attorney Rob Weber, another Becker hire) laying out the final steps:
Rob,
I am seeking your advice and assistance regarding a few potential unresolved issues with Gary Becker. If you agree, I suggest that you communicate with attorney Pat Cafferty to seek his help in resolving the issues:
1. It is my understanding that Gary Becker still is in possession of a key to the exterior of City Hall doors and a key to the Office of the Mayor. These should be returned to us as soon as possible.
2. As Mayor, Gary Becker was issued an official City purchasing card. I asked the Finance Department to cancel this card last week and this was accomplished. However, Gary is still in possession of the actual card and I recommend that it be returned to us as soon as possible.
3. It is my understanding that as Mayor, Gary Becker was in possession of a device that allowed him to park (without a charge or fee) in all public parking garages within Racine. I will defer to Rick Jones to confirm if this is accurate. If so, this should be returned to us as soon as possible.
4. I also believe that Gary Becker was given an official city parking sign for placement in his rearview mirror while conducting city business. While this is not critically important, I do believe that this should be returned to us.
5. I will defer to Paul Ancona to determine if any electronic devices (laptops, cameras, etc.) owned by the City are still in the possession of Gary Becker. While I understand that many of the electronic devices have already been seized, I do want Paul's verification that everything is accounted for.
Please let me know your thoughts. Also, please let me know if I have missed any items on my list.
Ben
The city does NOT need Ben Hughes. The best thing the new mayor could do is get rid of him!!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting how he's positioned himself to be in the limelight since this all broke out. It should be the acting mayor that speaks on behalf of the city, not that little weasel.
This is an email sent out, not a statement on behalf of the city. It's certainly the new mayor's right to evaluate the city administrator's position, but it's not fair to say Hughes is "positioning" himself or that he's a "weasel." It's especially unfair to make that statement as an anonymous comment.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the Post trying to rehabilitate Ben Hughes?
ReplyDeleteYeah Colt, was wondering the same thing. Dustin protests too much me thinks.
ReplyDeleteSpecial Election, LOTS OF MONEY
ReplyDeleteFOR ELECTION
Do you idiots even know what Ben Hughes does? Let me tell you Ben is the ONLY one in City Hall able to make the decisions to keep this city afloat. Without Ben right now this city would be much worse off. The guy you should be pissed at is Maack who is too much of a wimp to step up and accept his leadership role as President and represent this city as he was elected to do. Trust me, without Hughes we would be destroyed.
ReplyDeleteBen Hughes needs to go! He is nor was the Mayor, IMHO his oversite of $$ spend by Ex Mayor Becker needs to be looked into now.
ReplyDeleteHe has not been forthright in communicating with at least one City Commission.
Thank God that the new Mayor can purge this man that office and God Willing the grant writer too.
These nasty comments about Ben Hughes reveal more about the writer's character than his! One might think it is I-Have-An-Ax-To-Grind Sandra Tingle posting as "anonymous." As a native Racinian, homeowner and taxpayer, I am grateful for our City Administrator's leadership and attention to details.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:22 - talk to the managers and heads of the departments at city hall before you make comments like that. It is an insult to all of them. Without Hughes the city would be operating just fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the problem with Alderman Maack? I think he's doing great so far. Give him a chance.
Interesting that you bring up minutia.
ReplyDeleteDid the mayor take anything home to work on? Are they looking on his computer, flash drive, CD's, etc. for any sensitive files.
I would hate to see any files show up in some other computer tech's hands. He can't use the city's contract service if he has a problem with his computer again.
What's wrong with Maack???? R U kidding? He was appointed President of the Council, with that responsibility comes the potential interim mayor duties....INSTEAD Maack does not want to step up and be Mayor until June because that means he would have to give up his alderman seat, thus putting his personal agenda before that of the citizens of Racine....this sucks he should go.
ReplyDeleteDoes it really matter who wrote the letter/email?
ReplyDeleteThese are actions which should have been taken the day he resigned, not a week later.
That is just plain poor management.
This goes to show you that Ben Hughes is NOT qualified for his position, in addition to his previous comment he "guesses" the election should run efficiently... I want to know publically what Ben Hughes has done to earn his paycheck. He gave Becker free reign on the checkbook, had lawsuits filed against him for his actions and now he guesses about running things, hell flip a coin too.
ReplyDeleteI think he should get one of those Magic 8 balls for help during tough times like now.... Would be much better than guessing.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't look like limelight, it looks like an internal e-mail that was leaked by (probably) an Alderman. Tell me, who is acting like a "weasel".
ReplyDeleteMagic 8 ball.. I am laughing here just picturing him asking a question about the city, should I ask for the keys to city hall back from Becker? Him shaking it and the message floats up and tells him to try another day lmao
ReplyDeleteanon 8:12 - have you not been reading all the news and press releases the past two weeks? And as for this email, I wouldn't be surprised if the person who leaked it was Hughes himself.
ReplyDeleteanon 9:08 - Hahaha - that's too funny! Sad, but funny!
Dustin, how did you get this email? Did Hughes send it to you or was it leaked by someone else?
ReplyDeleteHughes did not send the email to me.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think Hughes would send the email. He's too busy looking like Howdy-Doody on TV, guessing and how things should run (again I stress, I didn't put those words into his mouth. He said it himself, He guesses the election should run efficiently) WTF?
ReplyDelete