The right thing, the right way

Alex Davy brings us up to date on the process underway to replace Mr. Copeland in his 2/13/2008 Lillie Newspapers articleLawyer hired to handle Copeland`s removal

Faced with mounting legal questions - and seeking to keep City Attorney H. Alan Kantrud above the fray - the Maplewood City Council hired Attorney Amy Mace of Ratwik, Roszak and Maloney, P.A. to advise them during the removal of suspended City Manager Greg Copeland.

Copeland has hired an attorney and demanded a formal, public hearing and written charges - a hearing he is entitled to under Minnesota statute 412.641. Once a city council has declared its "intent to remove" its manager, it has 30 days in which to hold the public meeting.
...
"I think I understand why Mr. Rossbach suggested that I not conduct this work," Kantrud says. "I think he's looking for the most non-controversial path - after all, I worked right across the hall from Copeland and he was my direct boss."

Still, Kantrud says he's confident he could have guided the city through the firing process. "But I appreciate the intent behind the decision," he says. "It's an attempt to add even more legitimacy to the process."

Contract questions
...
The contract came to light just days after the current Council majority voted to terminate Copeland, and Council member John Nephew says he "seriously questions" its validity. "To my mind," Nephew says, "there is no question that the contract the mayor and Copeland signed is invalid." ..."Basically," Nephew says, "there's a lot of complexity to the whole situation, so I think it's important to have an outside perspective."
...[emphasis added throughout]

In this otherwise accurate and helpful review, Davy's characterization of the need for hiring an outside attorney as arising from being 'Faced with mounting legal questions' might be missing the mark. Mr. Nephew's initial discussion and motions make it clear that the council intended to have outside guidance through this process from the onset, so as to do it correctly and in a way that minimized 'legal questions'. Directing staff to obtain outside council was a proactive move, not a reaction.

Secondly, Mr. Kantrud's self-characterization of his relationship as 'Copeland ... was my direct boss' seems revealing. This is not a casual remark lifted from context, as he has said much the same thing in at least one public meeting at which the Clear Channel agreement was being discussed. Compare his statement to 'The City is my client'.

Stephan