Marilyn Figueroa
Mayor and wife.
Posted on 04/22/2002 2:09:08 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Milwaukee Mayor John O. Norquist announced this afternoon that he will dissolve his campaign fund and pay the entire $375,000 settlement in Marilyn Figueroa's sexual harassment complaint against the city.
If his campaign funds do not cover the entire settlement amount, Norquist said, he will pay the remainder out of his own pocket. In his latest campaign finance report in February, Norquist reported that he had $245,166 in his campaign fund through December 2001.
"There will be no cost to the taxpayers," Norquist said at a short news conference Monday afternoon. "I believe this is the right thing to do. I made a mistake, as I said before, and I have accepted responsibility for that."
The mayor did not address whether he would run for a fifth term in 2004, but aldermen were told by City Attorney Grant Langley at an earlier meeting that Norquist would forgo a re-election bid.
Norquist's announcement came after the Common Council concluded deliberations on the settlement proposal, which was first announced on Friday. Earlier Monday, Norquist met with Langley in the mayor's office for about 45 minutes to discuss the settlement.
Under the deal, about $220,000 would be paid to settle Figueroa's workers compensation claim and $155,000 would go to pay her attorney fees.
Norquist admitted the sexual affair with Figueroa in December 2000, standing in a snowstorm in front of his South Side home. His wife, Susan Mudd, stood at his side.
Figueroa had been an aide in the mayor's office. She has alleged that she feared the mayor would withhold funds from South Side community organizations she supported if she spurned his advances.
After the affair came to light, Figueroa suffered a series of nervous breakdowns and reportedly is impaired by post-traumatic stress disorder.
The mayor said the affair, which stretched over five years, was consensual. He denied using force or coercion to compel Figueroa to have sex with him.
A three-week public hearing on Figueroa's complaint was scheduled to begin May 6 before an administrative law judge.
The settlement does not need the approval of Administrative Law Judge Allen Lawent, who has been overseeing Figueroa's sexual harassment claim.
Both sides will meet with Lawent to inform him they have reached a settlement. Figueroa will then have to withdraw the complaint she filed with the state to end the action, said Rachel Biittner, spokeswoman for the state Department of Workforce Development.
Norquist, 52, was elected mayor in 1988. When re-elected in 2000, he won 56% of the vote.
This story will be updated during the day and full coverage will appear in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.
Marilyn Figueroa
Mayor and wife.
That is a really good question, although the other solution (Workers' Compensation Fund) is an outrageous solution too. This solution is going to take the edge off the call for recall.
These modern Democrat lechers are not up to the Kennedy standards.
You're correct. And no opinion disclaimer is required, since he's publicly demonstrated it.
His contributors should have known what they were getting in to because he is a Democrat!
She's not unattractive in these shots, and would probably be quite attractive with a smile on her face.
Am I the only one that pictured the mayor dropping trow in a snow storm to have sex with the staffer, in front of his house, while his perverted wife spectated?
According to Marilyn, he threatened both her and the Hispanics. She claims she had to stay and endure some demeaning situations to keep the neighborhood block grants in place, as well as her own income. Then he reneged on the promotion he promised her as soon as he was re-elected.
There are a lot of similarities between this case and X42 and Monica. Except that I don't think Monica was doing anything for any group of downtrodden people.
Susan Mudd also attended the same college as Hillary! and is deeply involved in environmental issues. When this affair came to light, the Mayor immediately got his wife pregnant and she gave birth to a new baby in January. She probably had just learned she was pregnant when that soulful picture was taken of her. I repeat, he is a Bum!
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