Mayor Wilder loses in court, plans to appeal

Wilder’s undefeated 3-0 record for legal battles was shattered today as a Richmond Circuit judge ruled that the Mayor could be sued by City Council and could not claim sovereign immunity.

Wilder didn’t make it through the day without firing off this response… 

“We, in the Administration, have known, from the first instance, that our actions which led to this litigation were lawful.

“In addition to carefully weighing the correctness of our position, we also reached out to Council to talk with us regarding our findings in an effort to resolve the issue amicably.

“Hence, if the case is decided on its merits, the Administration is confident that it will prevail — as it has in the two Schools’ lawsuits and the Council’s lawsuit over the public safety building.

“But the issues just addressed by the court were procedural ones – and went to whether the court should ever have to address the merits of the lawsuit.

“It is for this reason, the Administration is considering its appellate options.”

The administration’s “action” he is referring to is firing City Council and City Assessor’s employees without those groups’ permission.  Seems like something the Mayor should keep out of anyway.

If you told me that the above prose was taken from an 18th centry English textbook, I would have believed you. Microsoft Word’s Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level gave it a 12.6.

Source: The Mayor’s Office, RTD