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Councilman censured again for loutish actions
"I've got the right to be weird," says St. Francis City Council member Leroy Schaffer after being rebuked by his peers.
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Another incident of bizarre behavior got St. Francis City Council Member LeRoy Schaffer censured by his colleagues Monday night -- again.
The first-term council member was the target of council action after the city attorney officially found that he had publicly humiliated the 19-year-old daughter of fellow Council Member Tim Brown, bringing her to tears.
Just as he did when censured previously, Schaffer said Monday that he will not leave his north exurban community's City Council.
"I've got the right to be weird," he said. "Every American has the right to be weird as long as he obeys the law."
According to the city attorney's investigation, on April 8, as a customer at St. Francis True Value hardware store, where Jessica Brown works, Schaffer pointed at her and loudly asked her if she was the daughter of Tim Brown, with whom he has clashed over several matters. He then said, "We have a spy!"
A bystander asked, "What spy?"
Schaffer responded by pointing and saying, "The one right behind you! Her!"
In his apology the same day, Schaffer explained himself to Jessica Brown by noting, "The issues I have with your father are not your fault. We don't like each other," the report said.
That incident culminated a series of comments that Jessica Brown characterized as "weird, off the wall and degrading."
In one instance, the investigation found, upon watching her carry a bag of cement, Schaffer commented to her, "You're a hard worker. Kind of like those Mexicans. Are you one of those Mexicans?"
St. Francis Mayor Jerry Tveit and Council Member Jeff Sandoval both noted that Schaffer had visited their homes to try to find out how they planned to vote on his case. Talking to him about that matter would have violated the state's open-meeting law and so they declined to do so, both said.
Since the council was discussing a personnel matter, the findings of the investigation were discussed in a 15-minute closed hearing.
When the council returned to discuss the resolution, Brown recused himself, which left Mayor Jerry Tveit to vote, along with Council Members Steve Kane and Jeff Sandoval. Kane has publicly criticized Schaffer in the past, and Sandoval was a member of the committee that sought his recall last fall.
The motion to censure Schaffer passed unanimously.
The censure is not a legal charge; it marks the extent to which the city can discipline Schaffer for behavior that falls short of criminal.
It's not the first time Schaffer, a first-term council member, has been criticized for behavior and comments made outside of the City Council chambers.
In December 2007, a year into his four-year term, the council censured him for making what it called inappropriate sexual comments to a young woman at a community fundraising event. After that incident, the council drafted a pledge of personal conduct for city officials; Schaffer abstained from voting when the code was adopted in January 2008.
Last June, Schaffer's conduct again became fodder for discussion when he called 911 to report a crew of Spanish-speaking roofers, saying that someone should check the workers' immigration papers. The council declined to act on that matter, but Schaffer faced criticism on and off the council for opening the city to charges of ethnic profiling.
That incident was the springboard for a group that organized a recall election last winter. Schaffer survived the vote, but the materials he circulated in his defense led the city to create a newsletter and post a special Web page to clarify multiple errors and misstatements.
After the meeting, council members noted that they'll have to find a way to continue to work for the good of the city despite Schaffer's presence.
"I'm going to try to continue on like I have in my previous two terms," Brown said. "It needed to be done, but unfortunately, I don't think he learned his lesson."
Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409
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