Victor J. Mastromarco said the suit would involve action for several wrongs: breach of contract, constitutional violations, and defamation of character, the Bay City Times reported April 5. “He has a definite meritorious claim, in my view,” Mastromarco said. “And then I think there’s a question whether [the board] followed proper procedure in terminating him.”
Board Chair Ella Jane Martini said she had expected a lawsuit. “I don’t think he’s going to like what’s going to be brought out,” she said. “I didn’t put all my cards on the table.”
The previous week, trustee Howard J. Wetters—the only member to vote against the firing—resigned, accusing the board of acting irresponsibly and violating the state’s open meetings and freedom of information acts, the Times reported April 4. He also claimed that Martini failed to provide evidence to support Paffhausen’s firing.
“I am sorry to report that many of the allegations contained in the documents she provided to the board are clearly contradicted by existing board minutes and other public documentation,” he wrote in a March 31 letter to Bay County Board Chairman Brian K. Elder.
Posted April 7, 2006.