Nunn trustees looking to oust mayor

NUNN -- A nasty and tested battle between the newly elected mayor and the town's board of trustees has resulted in a call to remove the mayor.

During a very unorthodox meeting Wednesday night, the town's trustees voted to hold a hearing Friday to remove Mayor Thomas Bender from office based on pages of complaints from the other trustees.

The list of complaints include charges of job neglect, actions unbecoming an official and targeting board members. Among the three pages of charges, Bender is accused of ignoring town staff concerns, belittling them and directing police to cite trustees with violations who disagreed with him. The complaints were written by the town's attorney.

Bender denies the allegations and called them "bogus."

"I feel like I was railroaded," Bender said after the meeting. The meeting concluded with the trustees and the town clerk, Tori McMechain, calling the meeting adjourned and walking out of the room as Bender argued that they had adjourned the meeting without the proper procedures.

At the meeting -- which ended in 15 minutes -- residents in attendance shouted expletives and called each other names and yelled at trustees. There seemed to be as many sides to the story between the mayor and the trustees as there were people in attendance, which was at 15.

<strong>WHAT'S NEXT?</strong> The Board of Trustees of Nunn will meet Friday for a removal hearing of Mayor Thomas Bender. The hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the town hall, 185 Lincoln Ave. in Nunn.

After the meeting, Trustee Jeff Pigue said the call to remove Bender came as a last resort.

Pigue said since being elected in April, Bender has gone over the trustees' heads in running town business, he ignores their concerns. They have called him a "rogue mayor."

Pigue said he attempted to address the complaints to Bender previously but his efforts went nowhere.

"What's wrong with working together?" Pigue said.

According to Pigue, who is the mayor pro-tem, if the trustees do remove Bender, which they are expected to do, they will vote someone among themselves to replace him.

While it seems Bender does not have the support of the trustees, he said he does have the support of residents.

"The town is behind me," he said. "A lot want the board stripped and start new."

There seemed to be disagreement among all present about the proper procedure to remove the mayor. One Colorado statutes the power to remove rests with the trustees; others cited that the issue must go before voters in a special election.

"I'm shocked, extremely shocked of the lack of willingness to work together," said resident Julie Jensen, after witnessing the chaotic meeting.

Jensen said she is concerns with the lack of public input in determining if the mayor should be removed. The trustees Wednesday did not allow public comment; they also stated there will be none allowed at Friday's meeting.

"It seems already like a done deal," Jensen said.