Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Conduct topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Attempts to remove council leader and censure mayor fail amid sharp public comment
Summary
Two council resolutions — one to remove the president pro tem and a separate censure of the mayor — failed for lack of a second. The meeting featured extended public comment about a prior meeting’s conduct and the mayor appointed a select committee to review professional conduct.
Two politically charged resolutions were debated at the July 21 City of Madison council meeting but failed to advance after neither received a second.
The council considered Resolution 20-26-9c, which sought to remove Jim Bartlett as president pro tem. The resolution, read into the record by the clerk, accused Bartlett of "collud[ing] with a member of the public to knowingly change the order of public comment" and of facilitating what the resolution described as "unfounded allegations" against another council member. A motion to approve the removal was made but there was no second, and the motion failed.
Minutes later the council took up Resolution 20-26-10c, a proposed censure of Mayor Bob G. Courtney for allegedly transgressing council rules by allowing speakers who had not signed up in advance to make public comments at a prior meeting. The clerk read the resolution’s findings and said that council rules permit suspension of rules only with a two‑thirds vote of all members; a motion to censure the mayor likewise failed for lack of a second.
Following the failed votes the mayor announced a mayoral select committee on professional conduct and appointed Lucy D’Atsillo, Josh Wilbur and Patrick Tavanagh to investigate the matters described in the meeting record.
Public comment at the July 21 meeting reflected the divide: several residents criticized how the previous meeting handled public remarks and called the episode "shameful" and "persecution," while others defended the council or called for calm. Randy Bellamy told the council, "With what happened at the last meeting should never have happened," and Deanna Shelley urged transparency about a development ownership question involving Madison Woods. Other speakers urged the new committee to review the history of disputes and recommended more consistent enforcement of meeting rules.
Council members and the mayor responded in the record that the process for the contested items followed public procedures and that the matter would be addressed through the new select committee.
No formal removal or censure actions were adopted at the July 21 meeting; the select committee will be the next step described on the record.
