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New Berlin mayor controversy, special meeting held
A petition to remove New Berlin Mayor Dave Ament from office was the only item on the agenda on Thursday night, Nov. 5. FOX6's Abril Preciado was there and has more.
NEW BERLIN, Wis. - A petition called for the removal of New Berlin Mayor Dave Ament from office. That was the only item on the agenda at a special meeting the New Berlin Common Council called Thursday night.
Common Council meets
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Council members spent most of the meeting behind closed doors. They met in closed session with legal counsel to discuss how to handle the petition calling for Ament to be removed from office.
This all comes after a series of anti-Muslim and controversial posts surfaced on Ament's personal Facebook page. Those posts sparked outrage, pushing many residents and advocacy groups to formally petition for his removal. While Ament publicly apologized, people said that is not enough.
What's next:
Not as many people attended Thursday's meeting, but folks said they have not forgotten about this. They said they are closely watching what the city does next.
"So he is not, he is not somebody that should be not serving as mayor of a community that includes Muslims because they don't feel safe and so he should do the decent thing and resign," said Janan Najeeb, executive director of the Muslim Women's Coalition.
New Berlin mayor anti-Muslim comments; records reveal backlash, support
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No immediate decision
What's next:
The meeting lasted less than an hour. While no immediate decision was announced regarding the mayor's removal, council members provided an update before wrapping up the meeting for the night.
"I'd like to make a motion. It's in four parts. The council president, the common council to provide charges to the mayor with the accompanying letter regarding the process, talking to the petitioner and the charge of party. Second to limit scope of hearing the charge, three as charges one and two and the third being in litigation," Alderman John Hopkins said.
Council members were asked for more context regarding those charges and the removal process, but they said they cannot comment, adding that more details will become public during upcoming hearings scheduled for Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. FOX6 also reached out to Mayor Ament for comment but have not heard back.
New Berlin officials reach no decision on petition to remove Mayor Ament
New Berlin officials met behind closed doors on Tuesday night to discuss a petition calling for Mayor Dave Ament's removal. The special meeting went into closed session, lasted only an hour, and ended with no decision made or announced by the Common Council.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6's Abril Preciado and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from New Berlin Common Council, Dave Ament, Janan Najeeb and John Hopkins.