BAYFIELD – The Bayfield Town Board made its first public statement this week about a criminal harassment case involving Mayor Pro Tem Alexis Hartz.
After a unanimous vote to make the statement public, Mayor Tom Au read it aloud on Tuesday for meeting attendees.
The statement acknowledges Hartz has been criminally charged with harassment for the Dec. 4 incident. It notes that criminal defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, but says board members also do not condone harassment of any kind by elected officials on their constituents.
“The board reserves the right in the future to take any and all action available to it under the law to ensure that the citizens it serves are protected,” the statement said.
Hartz, who was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, is accused of confronting and trying to intimidate Bayfield resident Lucy Stewart on Dec. 4 over a letter signed by 50 residents calling for Hartz’s resignation.
Stewart told police that Hartz confronted her about the letter and allegedly demanded she “explain herself” about why she wrote it. Stewart replied she was within her right to not explain anything to Hartz, then asked her to leave her property.
Hartz allegedly kept persisting and grew angry when she was again asked to leave. Stewart told police that Hartz got right in her face, then Stewart got inside her van and locked the doors. She told police that she started moving her van, and Hartz hit the van and threw part of her body onto the van.
A camera on the side of the Pine River Pawn Shop reportedly captured video of the alleged incident, and that video was given to police. No arrests were made, but Bayfield police cited Hartz.
Town attorney Michael Goldman told the board the statement had to be deemed fair and impartial in order for a majority vote in favor of reading it publicly during Tuesday’s meeting. He also noted that any board member who may show any indication they may not be fair and impartial would be grounds to recuse themselves from voting.
When Goldman mentioned the alternative to vote against reading it, it drew some snickering from the crowd.
Board Trustee Kat Katsos told the board before the vote she was concerned about the last bit of the second sentence in the statement discussing public opinion and the board not commenting or opining further. However, she supported the “spirit” behind the rest of the statement and ultimately voted “in good faith” for having the statement read publicly.
Board Trustee Brenna Morlan, whose husband is Raymond Morlan, the Bayfield police officer who was called to Stewart’s home on Dec. 4, told the board she could not comment on the incident itself because of that familial conflict of interest, but she could speak on the public statement – the latter of which she voted in favor of being read publicly.
Board Trustee Laura MacLaurin inquired before the vote about whether to proceed with any additional public comments because of the already-public nature of the alleged incident, citing The Durango Herald’s reporting. She ultimately voted in favor of having the statement be read publicly.