Bob Ryan (mayor)
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Robert "Bob" Ryan (May 28, 1963July 1, 2021) was an American businessman and municipal politician. He was the 53rd mayor of
Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...
. He was elected in 2009 but recalled from office in 2012, before the end of his four-year term.


Life and career

Prior to being elected mayor, Ryan served on the city's Common Council for three years as District Two's
alderperson An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...
, and operated Ryan Oil, which operated BP service stations in the county before the sale of those stations to Quality State Oil in mid-2007. Ryan died on July 1, 2021, at the age of 58.


Mayor of Sheboygan

Ryan and State Representative
Terry Van Akkeren Terry Van Akkeren (born March 10, 1954) is an American engineering technician, die and tool maker, and Democratic politician from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He represented Sheboygan for eight years in the Wisconsin State Assembly (2003–2011) a ...
challenged incumbent Juan Perez in the 2009 mayoral election. Ryan ran as a critic of Sheboygan's "political environment". After Perez was eliminated in the preliminary election he endorsed Ryan. Ryan defeated Van Akkeren 5,891 to 3,968 in the runoff election. Ryan started his four-year term in April 2009. He
annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...
land for a future
business center ''Business Center'' is business network CNBC's flagship primetime show that aired in 5 to 7 pm ET timeslot, hosted by Ron Insana and Sue Herera, and it was replaced by ''Bullseye (CNBC TV series), Bullseye'' on December 5, 2003. History * ...
along
I-43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highw ...
near the
University of Wisconsin–Sheboygan A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
/ Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School campus that was named "Willow Creek Park." Ryan worked with city's Director of Development and Planning to form the Sheboygan Market District to promote regional foods. During his term,
PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...
were removed from the lower
Sheboygan River The Sheboygan River is a river flowing to Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed December 19, 2011 ...
. In February 2011, the city annexed 180 further acres of former farmland along its western border with
Kohler Kohler is an occupational surname of German origin. It means "charcoal burner". Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Kohler (born 1952), Australian journalist *Anton Kohler (1907–1961), German chess player *Berthold Kohler (born 1961 ...
for development.


Controversy and scandals


Sexual harassment lawsuit

In December 2009, former City of Sheboygan Human Resources Director Angela Payne filed a complaint with the Equal Rights Division of the
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for providing services to Wisconsin workers, employers, and job-seekers to meet Wisconsin's workforce needs. To effect its mission, ...
alleging sexual harassment and racial discrimination. She alleged that on July 9, 2009, Ryan attempted to kiss her and made sexual advances. On August 6, Ryan fired Payne for what he called "unsatisfactory services". She had been recently hired by previous mayor Juan Perez and was in her probationary period during which the mayor could fire her without permission of the city council. Ryan said the firing was the result of numerous department heads approaching him, detailing Payne's shortcomings in a meeting and asking that she be terminated. An equal rights officer with the Department of Workforce Development who investigated the complaint found Payne's allegations of sexual harassment credible, recommending a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.Eric Litke.
State: Sexual harassment claim by former HR director Angela Payne against Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan 'believable'
", ''Sheboygan Press'', April 30, 2010.
The investigator dismissed the claim of racial discrimination. A cash settlement in the case was announced in August 2011.


Elkhart Lake incident

On July 26, 2011, ''
The Sheboygan Press ''The Sheboygan Press'' is a daily newspaper based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of a number of newspapers in the state of Wisconsin owned by Gannett, including the ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', '' Green Bay Press-Gazette'' ...
'' reported that on July 23 Ryan got into a physical altercation in Elkhart Lake with someone who confronted him for drinking. A few days later, Ryan admitted he was getting treatment for alcoholism. Ryan pleaded guilty in February 2013 for groping a woman in a bar. In September 2011, the city Common Council voted to hire two attorneys to remove Ryan from office.


January 2012 recall election

In August 2011, residents organized a February 2012
recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...
, gathering enough petition signatures to force a ballot. Ryan did not appeal the petition and was automatically entered as a candidate in the election against him, with seven other candidates. Ryan received the most votes (33%) in the first round and survived to a runoff against former state representative Terry Van Akkeren (26%). On February 21, 2012, Van Akkeren defeated Ryan (53% to 47%) in the recall election. Ryan left office on March 5, 2012.


March 2013 arrest

On March 3, 2013, Ryan was arrested for drunk driving near
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
. While being transported to the Manitowoc County Jail, he commented that he wished the female Manitowoc police officer had arrested him, stating she was "hot" and "smoking". Ryan was charged with an
OWI OWI may refer to: *United States Office of War Information *"operating while intoxicated", "operating while impaired", see Driving under the influence#Terminology * Owi Airfield, Schouten Islands, Indonesia; a WWII USAAF airfield of the South We ...
after his blood alcohol level was tested; it was his first citation for drunk driving. He reached a plea agreement of a lesser charge of operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration in July 2013; he received a fine and had his driver's license revoked for eight months.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Bob 1963 births Living people Mayors of Sheboygan, Wisconsin Recalled American mayors Wisconsin city council members