Wisconsin Mayor Apologizes for 3 Day Drinking Binge Passing Out Drunk in Bar

by hearit

Much of the nation has experienced its own set of alcohol-infused set of events at one point or another. But then most of the nation isn't acting mayor. A Wisconsin mayor apologizes for a 3-day alcoholic binge where he ended passed out in a Sheboygan bar. Yet Mayor Bob Ryan doesn't want to step down. He refuses to resign.
 
He's the mayor of Sheboygan, Bob Ryan. It's not the fact that he's a self-described alcoholic -- but perhaps the fact that he doesn't seem to be addressing that issue, while simultaneously refusing to step down from his public office. He admits to drinking, getting in a brawl -- and eventually passing out cold in a tavern in Elkhart Lake. That all happened over the weekend. He's supposedly 'sorry' -- but the mayor doesn't plan to step down from his job despite the idea that many others are looking for that resolution.
 
Apparently the Sheboygan City Council has got some different thoughts on the subject: The city council is in the midst of considering a resolution asking for Mayor Ryan's resignation.
 
It seems the mayor believes it's fine for the council to have its own opinion. But he doesn't seem to care about that opinion: "I do not blame the council for asking for my resignation. What I did is indefensible. I'm not proud of it. I'm an alcoholic," says Ryan.
 
Apparently Mayor Ryan doesn't get the concept that being a self-proclaimed alcoholic isn't exactly a defense -- particularly when it's not a new one.
 
The mayor's explanation for the weekend's alcohol-infused events: Well, there isn't a lot of explanation. According to Mayor Bob Ryan: "I consequently went out for dinner on a Friday, began drinking and it began a three-day drinking session. I'm not proud of it. That's not me, but that's the alcoholic within me." That "alcoholic within" Mayor Ryan doesn't seem to be indicating any great promise for a lack of a repeat.
 
But it only gets worse. Apparently that "alcoholic within" it's big on accepting any type of blame or responsibility: "Did I pass out on a bar? Yes I did. I'll admit that. Was I in a scuffle? Yes. Did I start it? No, I did not," says Mayor Ryan.
 
The self-proclaimed alcoholic also claims his job performance has never been affected by that said alcoholism. "Alcohol has never affected the way I do my job. Alcohol has affected my personal life greatly," says the mayor. "I have never walked into a city meeting or council meeting under the influence of alcohol." Apparently being a mayor only involves meetings.
 
Mayor Ryan also claims he's got ongoing treatment scheduled and that he's slated for treatment, "an intensive outpatient program" that will allow him to "still continue" his job. According to Bob Ryan: "That will be an evening and weekend group session, and I will still be able to carry on my duties as mayor."
 
The most recent drunken escapades involving Mayor Ryan are actually far more tame than the past. Being passed out, drunk in a bar is a far more quiet experience than being on video. Someone was able to capture a drunken mayor on video while he's chatting on his cell phone -- that posted that video evidence on YouTube, of the government leader making sexual comments about a relative. Not just any relative -- like, say, even a third cousin. It'd still be creepy, but not as creepy as what occurred: It appears good ol' Mayor 'Bob' is awfully lucky he's still married, after talking about his wife's sister -- and her skills 'in the bedroom'.
 
The mayor of Sheboygan is also facing a bit of a potential legal issue: It seems there's a sexual harassment accusation coming from a female employee the mayor previously fired. After watching the video of Mayor Ryan, anyone would surely find such charges against the man's reputation hard to believe.
 
The Sheboygan Common Council would need a formal complaint filed against Mayor Bob Ryan in order to successfully boot him from office. No resident has completed that necessary step which would allow Ryan to be kicked out of the Sheboygan position. But if it doesn't happen through a formal complaint, taxpaying citizens of the city that houses roughly 115,000 are preparing a takedown. It looks like the 'Wild West' is making a comeback: "We’ll lodge the formal complaint and do the judge and the jury all together," says Alderman Scott Varsey. "This needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later. And not a slap on the hand, either."
 
Bob Ryan better duck -- they're coming for his head. If the Sheboygan city does manage to oust the mayor, which now seems more and more likely, perhaps he can make a new friend and hang out in the Wisconsin city of Marinette. Marinette city council members have just voted to gain some legal help from a lawyer or two -- in efforts to boot the city's latest liability: Mayor Bob Harbick's isn't technically out of office for eight months but the Wisconsin city wants him out much sooner. It seems Mayor Harbick is accused of a July 2 car crash, an accident that saw Bob's SUV crash through a light pole close to a taco restaurant.
 
It reallly has to suck to be a police officer who's forced to consider giving sobriety tests to your very own mayor. Marinette cops actually spared the mayor, or maybe couldn't deal with the probable results: Police officers considered the 'leader' too impaired by alcohol to even attempt field sobriety tests. It's unclear how long officers waited before administering a breathalyzer test. Whenever that testing occurred, breath test results reflected a suspicion of drunk driving at nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol. Mayor Bob Harbick's breathalyzer test resulted in alleged blood-alcohol levels of about .225.
 
When they're each booted out of office, at least the two Wisconsin mayors can have a 'playmate'. After all, it's hard to find much more in common: Not only do the city mayors share that first name of 'Bob', both like to play 'mayor', each has a great fondness for alcohol, each makes questionable decisions -- and, despite it all, each refuses to step down from his job. Perhaps they can reminisce in a Wisconsin bar together about the good, old days.
 

Location