Wausau ethics board grants motion to compel depositions and approves subpoenas in complaint involving Mayor Doug Denny

The Wausau Ethics Board voted unanimously to grant respondent Mayor Doug Denny’s motion to compel depositions and, in subsequent votes, approved subpoenas for nine witnesses to appear at a hearing on the pending ethics complaint.

A board member read the board’s written determination saying the panel had reviewed filings from both sides — including the motion to compel filed on behalf of Denny by attorney Andrew Erlinson and the city’s response filed on behalf of city clerk Caitlin Bernardi and city attorney Anne Jacobson by attorney Sam Hall — and concluded that the respondent must be allowed to take depositions necessary to exercise discovery rights under the city code and state procedure. The board’s determination said a February denial of a records request and an ongoing criminal investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice did not justify denying depositions in the board’s proceeding.

The board’s written…