Milwaukee Common Council dispute; complaint, response reveal details

MILWAUKEE - One Milwaukee Common Council member filed an ethics complaint against the other, and FOX6 News obtained the official complaint and rebuttal that describe a heated meeting, a slammed door and more.

Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa filed the complaint with the Milwaukee Board of Ethics, which Ald. Mark Chambers said mischaracterizes things.

FOX6 News asked both Zamarripa and Chambers to speak on camera Friday. Neither would, as the investigation remains ongoing.

Zamarippa's complaint

What they're saying:

In February, some Common Council members unveiled plans to push back on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Right before that, Zamarripa said Chambers came into her office. Common Council President Jose Perez and members Marina Dimitrijevic and Peter Burgelis were already inside.

Zamarripa said Chambers was upset that his own 2024 mask proposal was not included in a press package and demanded that it be included or that she not discuss masks. At one point, Zamarripa said Chambers "removed his knit hat and forcefully slammed it onto a chair while yelling things similar to: "F*** you, you're always the victim, JoCasta!"

The ethics complaint alleges that Zamarripa told Chambers to leave her office, and he did not. Zamarripa said Chambers' aide also asked him to leave, but he "yelled at her and forcefully slammed the office door shut, trapping [her] and President Perez inside."

Zamarripa said Chambers pointed his finger in her face and got so close "at times their noses nearly touched." She said he yelled things like "f*** you and f*** your office!" and "start crying! Come on, JoCasta! Start crying now!"

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In the complaint, Zamarripa said she "fears for her physical safety in City Hall as a result of this incident." She also said she has experienced ongoing hostility from Chambers and "reasonably believes is motivated, at least in part, by her identity as a Latina woman."

Zamarripa called all of that an abuse of power that interferes with democratic representation.

Chambers responds

The other side:

Chambers, through his attorney Jason Luczak, filed a response with the Milwaukee Board of Ethics.

It said "discussion became heated and that voices were raised," but that Zamarripa "materially mischaracterizes the nature of the interaction by portraying the exchange as a one-sided confrontation initiated and driven solely by" Chambers. It also said Zamarripa was the first to swear, telling Chambers to "get the f*** out of her office."

The response added that "the exchange occurred in the context of a heated political disagreement between elected officials regarding legislative matters."

It said Chambers wrote a note to Zamarripa and "expressed that the exchange had escalated beyond what he had intended and invited her to have a civil conversation over lunch. Additionally, respondent apologized to individuals who were present during the exchange for the atmosphere that was created. These actions are inconsistent with the complainant’s attempt to portray the interaction as a calculated attempt by respondent to intimidate or silence a colleague through misuse of public office."

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The response also said:

"It was a heated political dispute about public policy. Nothing more. It had nothing to do with race, ethnicity, or gender.

"More troubling, the narrative advanced in the complaint invokes a harmful and familiar stereotype – portraying a black man engaged in a political disagreement as threatening or dangerous. That trope has a long and damaging history.

"This matter began and ended as a disagreement about legislation and legislative process."

Chambers’ argues the city ordinance Zamarripa cited in her complaint does not apply to a political disagreement, and that the Wisconsin Constitution protects lawmakers for what they say in debate.

The text of that ordinance states: "Misuse of position. No official or other city employee may use or attempt to use his or her position to influence or gain unlawful benefits, advantages or privileges for himself or herself or others."

Chambers' response said: "These are the kinds of disagreements that occur regularly in legislative bodies. They are part of the political process, and they certainly do not constitute the pursuit of an ‘unlawful benefit, advantage, or privilege’ within the meaning of the ethics code."

Complaint withdrawn

What's next:

Zamarripa withdrew the complaint in April but said she could file it again. The reason for pulling it? She wanted the Board of Ethics to delay hearing it for another month, but she said they would not. She said she had another event scheduled at that time, and she was only notified of the meeting less than a week before it was set to occur.

Zamarripa also said it made sense to delay since she pointed out Milwaukee’s Department of Employee Relations has started a third-party investigation. That department did not reply to FOX6's request for comment by the deadline for this story.

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