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Council denies two operator/bartender license applications after debate over recent OWI/DUI incidents
Summary
After hearing legal guidance that recent related convictions may bar licensing under state law, the council denied operator/bartender license applications for Grace Marie Davis and Casey James Lewandowski; members were divided over rehabilitation time and whether workplace supervision (Walgreens) affects the decision.
The Waukesha Common Council denied two operator/bartender license applications on Nov. 4 after debate over whether recent offenses were “reasonably related” to licensed activity and whether applicants had shown sufficient rehabilitation.
City staff urged denial of Grace Marie Davis’s application, arguing state law bars issuing a bartender/operator license when an applicant has a conviction for an offense reasonably related to the licensed activity. "I strongly oppose issuing this bartender's license and recommend that it be denied," staff said, noting the applicant’s recent OWI and arguing five months is insufficient to establish rehabilitation.
Council members were split. Some members noted the application was supported by the employer and that the incident was a single occurrence; others said an OWI, particularly by a 19-year-old, weighed against issuing a license for selling alcohol. The motion to deny Davis’s application passed 12–2.
A second application for Casey James Lewandowski was discussed similarly; council members cited a recent DUI and lack of a rehabilitation period. The motion to deny Lewandowski’s application passed 11–3 with one abstention.
City staff and council members referenced state employment-discrimination law and case-by-case determinations when discussing the proper local application of rehabilitation standards. Council instructions required that motions to deny specify the reasons in the record; clerks will notify applicants of the decisions.
