Wausau ethics board finds complaint about mayor and absentee ballot drop box sufficient, votes to investigate

The Wausau City Ethics Board unanimously determined on Feb. 19 that a citizen complaint alleging the mayor prevented the city clerk from installing an absentee ballot drop box alleges facts that, if true, are sufficient to violate the city's ethics code, and the board voted to authorize a formal investigation.

The ruling triggers a multi-part investigation order the board approved at the meeting in which the board asked for documentary and written statement evidence from the respondent (the mayor), the City Attorney and the City Clerk. The board set a seven-day deadline for the respondent to file a written response from the date the board's order is delivered and set a 14-day deadline for other documents and statements to be filed with the city clerk.

The ethics board's outside counsel, municipal attorney Eric Larson, guided the panel through the board's narrow role under the Wausau municipal code — that the initial step is to decide only whether the complaint, on its face, alleges facts sufficient to state a possible violation. "The board shall review a third party complaint at a duly called meeting and determine whether it alleges facts sufficient to constitute a violation of this chapter," Larson said while reading the ordinance language the board relied on.

Board members said the complaint asserts that during the week of Sept. 23, 2024, the mayor prevented the city clerk from installing an absentee ballot drop box, that the mayor had prior notice from the city attorney about legal…