Who does Davenport Mayor Mike Matson serve? Certainly not the citizens and taxpayers of Davenport with his actions taken in the past six months regarding large monetary payments to three former city employees.
Davenport's almost $2 million in payments to three top city employees, including the highest paid employee city administrator Corrin Spiegel, amounts to more money than the city spends on many city projects in one year.
Matson has condoned and encouraged the behavior of the former city attorney's efforts to keep these settlements from the public eye.
Why were these extraordinarily large three monetary settlements kept secret until after the Nov. 7, 2023, mayoral election? Could it be that it was because Matson was in a contentious re-election bid for votes on Nov. 7, 2023, with Iowa State Rep. Ken Croken and might well have lost the mayoral election had full disclosure been made to the public.
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Transparency was supposed to be the hallmark of Matson's re-election bid. Matson's recent actions as mayor reflect a clear lack of transparency. In fact, Matson is now allowing an outside law firm hired by the city to sue a local resident who requested the demand letter of former city administrator Corrin Spiegel that precipitated her settlement and the million-dollar pay-out to her. Matson is also condoning the city's attempt to block Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand's state audit of the Davenport books regarding these high-priced settlements.
Was Matson afraid the public would look with disdain on him if the public actually read the Spiegel demand letter, netting her $1.6 million of taxpayer dollars including payment to Spiegel of $1 million (tax free) for alleged "emotional distress?"
Matson was in favor of these large payouts by the city and has never publicly even questioned whether or not they should have been paid.
Apparently, the city has millions of dollars to payout to former city employees, but will not try to settle the lawsuits with the 80 tenants who either died, were permanently maimed for life, or were summarily displaced from their residences, at 324 Main Street on May 28, 2023. This infamous building collapse occurred a few hundred feet from City Hall and in full view of Matson's third floor mayoral office window. Spiegel is a named individual defendant in two of these building lawsuits.
Why would the city voluntarily pay Spiegel $1.6 million without her first filing a lawsuit or even making an EEOC complaint against the city, alleging a factual basis for her claim? Presently, the public knows nothing about Spiegel's factual allegation except tidbits of information transmitted to the public by the city alleging "harassment." The city refuses to disclose Spiegel's demand letter, instead the city sues a local citizen, Ezra Sidran, who requested the demand letter pursuant to the Iowa Public Records Act.
Why didn't the city let a judge and jury determine whether or not Spiegel had any viable legal claims against the city? Litigation would have provided answers to these allegations that the public would understand. Why did a subordinate of Spiegel's at City Hall sign her settlement agreement without prior city council approval?
These questions demand answers by Matson to the public. Matson has refused or has deflected and failed to provide the public with clear factual answers over the past six months. Matson owes the public that much as their mayor. This has the appearance of a cover-up by Matson and has an odor to it.
Matson must come clean with the citizens of Davenport. He must promptly release the Sept. 25, 2023, Spiegel demand letter and direct the dismissal of the city's lawsuit against Sidran. The mayor must further spell out to the public the rationale for these historically large payouts. The public deserves nothing less.
I cannot, and many of my public citizen colleagues also cannot, accept the way this entire sordid matter has been handled. Matson must answer to the public or step down as mayor.
Editor's note: In January, Allen Diercks filed a lawsuit against the Davenport City Council, former city attorney Thomas Warner and the city of Davenport claiming they executing agreements with city officials without prior city council approval.
Dr. Allen Diercks is a property owner in Davenport and Bettendorf.