City Council President David Maack took action Thursday to remove Gary Becker's presence from the city's website. That's just one day after Becker was arrested at Brookfield Square Mall on child sex solicitation charges -- much faster than the city government usually moves on anything.
The Journal Times reported tonight that Maack, who as Council President has taken over as acting mayor, "asked city staff on Thursday to remove Becker's picture and welcome message from the city's website. “With everything going on I felt it was not appropriate for his picture and his welcome to remain on the Web site,” Maack told the JT.
Wrote the Journal Times: "He might still be the mayor of Racine, but Gary Becker’s face is no longer a part of the main page of the city’s Web site."
Yeah? Well, maybe not the "main" page, but he's still there on the website. We just grabbed this screenshot from the city's web page. And the mayor's budget address and state of the city address are also still there too -- as they should be. Becker is, after all, still mayor. (HA! Joke's on me: Sometime between 8 p.m. Friday, when I first posted this, and 11:30 p.m. when I just checked the link, all mayoral pages have disappeared. Somewhere, Stalin is smiling.)
Noticed he has been removed from Ch.25 the City's Channel also..
ReplyDeleteand his statute is now gone from the square....
ReplyDeleteDoes Maack have the authority to do that?
ReplyDeleteThey are falling all over each other to say "he is still the mayor" but are full-speed ahead in the "Gary who?" process. Reminds me of that scene from "The Ten Commandments" - "Moses name shall be stricken . . ."
ReplyDeleteinteresting. i searched the muni-code (boring!) and there is nothing about succession except in the case of an emergency (defined as an attack from a foreign country.) What authority is Maack operating under???? Or is there a State law?
ReplyDeleteI can see Maack being a Stalinist.
ReplyDeleteThe city council definately needs to do some homework and find out what the laws and proper procedure is to remove the Mayor. The councils lack of knowledge in this area is opening them up for an easy appeal victory of anything they do. They better watch it, they are getting way ahead of themselves. The mayor still has rights even though he is a pervert!
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking the mayor is not "removed" but is placed on "paid suspension" which protects the City in the case that he is acquitted (they don't owe back salary) and the Deputy Mayor is acting until such time as he is convicted and fired or acquitted. Unless he's impeached of course, or resigns (which would be foolish given that he wouldn't be paid then). The City's attorney won't let the Council act in a way that could endanger the City, and perhaps distancing is a step in that. Or perhaps they're just embarrassed.
ReplyDelete"Unperson..." Sounds so 1984 to me..
ReplyDelete