Port Washington data center dispute sparks recall effort against mayor
Port Washington data center dispute sparks recall effort against mayor
Opponents of a Port Washington data center project filed a recall petition against the mayor after three women were arrested at a council meeting, calling the incident a tipping point.
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. - A group opposing a large data center project in Port Washington has filed paperwork to begin a recall effort against the city’s mayor, citing recent arrests at a Common Council meeting as a turning point.
What we know:
A member of the Great Lakes Neighbors United group filed a recall petition with the city Tuesday. The filing comes as Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke addressed ongoing concerns about the $15 million data center project during a Common Council meeting later that night.
Tensions escalated two weeks ago when three women were arrested during a council meeting. Video from the meeting shows one woman chanting "recall" from her seat after her allotted public comment time had ended. Police said she refused to leave the chamber and was handcuffed.
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Two other women were also arrested.
Port Washington data center; concerns over arrests at city meeting
Outrage over arrests. People are upset after a Port Washington meeting ended with three women in custody. Now, they're taking those concerns to the police and fire commission.
The arrests sparked outrage among opponents of the project and helped motivate the recall push, according to the group. Construction on the data center has already begun, and residents have packed council meetings for months to voice opposition.
Dig deeper:
City leaders have maintained that the approval process for the data center was transparent, a claim the group strongly disputes.
"When our citizens are being led out, dragged out in handcuffs by sworn officers that are sworn to protect us, serve us, that suggests that there’s a problem with the administration that needs to be addressed and the buck stops at the mayor’s desk," said Dan Eastman, attorney.
"There’s a misnomer that me and a council member sat in a closet someplace with people from the outside and negotiated a billion dollar deal," Neitzke said. "That is not at all true."
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What's next:
The group now has 60 days to collect more than 1,600 signatures from Port Washington residents to move the recall forward. If successful, a special recall election would be held.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.