Bob Ryan (May 28, 1963 – July 1, 2021) was an American municipal politician and businessman. He served as the mayor of
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a
non-partisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
office, from 2009 until he lost a
recall election
A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of offi ...
in 2012.
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. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...
, 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 politician, engineering technician, and die and tool maker.
Career
Van Akkeren graduated from Sheboygan North High School and went to Lakeshore Technical College. He worked as an engineerin ...
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 (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
land for a future
business center 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 Highwa ...
near the
University of Wisconsin–Sheboygan/
Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School
Sheboygan Lutheran High School is a private secondary school in Sheboygan, Wisconsin near the University of Wisconsin–Sheboygan campus on the city's southwest side. It is operated by the Lutheran High School Association of the Greater Sheboyga ...
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 highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
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 a surname of German origin. The name was first found in Saxony. It means, "charcoal burner" so the first "Kohlers" were most likely of that occupation. Notable people with the surname include:
*Alan Kohler, Australian journalist
*Anton ...
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, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of offi ...
,
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 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
. 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 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