Five people, Including Mayor Ryan Sorenson, Named in a Lawsuit filed by Former Sheboygan Director of Planning and Development, Chad Pelishek.
The lawsuit was filed on August 7, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Pelishek resigned in May, 2023, after a 16-year career with the City of Sheboygan, citing severe negative impacts on himself and his family.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued Pelishek a Notice of the Right to Sue for his discrimination charge on June 15, 2023.
The defendants in the lawsuit include Sorenson, Common Council members Barbara Felde, Roberta Filicky-Peneski, and Amanda Salazar, as well as Emily Rendall-Araujo, the Director of Uptown Social.
The claim submitted by Pelishek’s attorney, Jennifer DeMaster, alleges that Pelishek faced abusive and hostile conditions in his job, driven by the DEI collective. They labeled him a racist for expressing concerns about racism and demanded his termination while fabricating a false narrative about him.
The lawsuit claims that Pelishek witnessed Todd Wolf being accused of harassment and misconduct, leading to his termination without cause by the City of Sheboygan. When Pelishek tried to present evidence disproving these allegations against Wolf, he and his family were harassed and threatened by City officials.
The events with Wolf and Pelishek stemmed from an incident at a Sheboygan Neighborhood Association meeting, where an unidentified person made a racial slur. Pelishek sought assistance from Mayor Sorenson to address racial issues in neighborhood meetings, but the mayor ignored his requests.
During a meeting on August 22, 2022, Pelishek asked for help in addressing racism, and Emily Rendall-Araujo told him to quote the racist comment made by the unidentified person in the neighborhood meeting. Pelishek then provided a quote of the comment made by the unidentified male that included a racial slur.
The lawsuit also covers a lunch meeting on October 5, 2022, where Wolf, Pelishek, and another City employee met with members of the DEI group. The DEI members asked for $70,000 for consulting work, and when Wolf refused, they threatened to oppose him.
On October 10, 2022, the Sheboygan Press published an article titled “Sheboygan Leader Uses Racist Slur in Meeting” with a picture of Pelishek.
The lawsuit alleges that Rendall-Araujo met with a Sheboygan Press reporter and influenced the publication of additional articles suggesting Pelishek was racist and that Wolf failed to address racism.
These events led to an investigation of Wolf and eventual termination without cause. Following Wolf’s termination, Pelishek was told by City Attorney Chuck Adams to report directly to Mayor Sorenson. When Pelishek asked if he could have a private lawyer for himself during an investigation, Sorenson denied the request, stating that Adams was his lawyer for all matters related to the City and the investigation.
Due to fear without being allowed an attorney, Pelishek recorded his interview with Attorney Hall when he was questioned regarding the Todd Wolf investigation. The suit states that after being pressed by Hall to share his concerns, Pelishek told Hall about concerns regarding troubling financial matters with Progressive/DEI connected individuals and the City that he was aware of, that those issues were under an external audit, that Rendall-Araujo told him to tell her exactly what racist statement was made, and that he believes Rendall-Araujo asking him to repeat it was a “set up” and “plotted attack”. Pelishek also informed Hall that the DEI group members threatened Todd Wolf at the October 5 meeting after Wolf denied them money from the City. The suit states that Hall asked Pelishek, “Do you recall DEI leaders saying that if Todd didn’t pay them that they would publicly oppose him?” Pelishek responded, “Yes, that was said.”
After the interview, there was a series of events that impacted Pelishek’s wife and children. Pelishek asked to have the record cleared about the meeting where the slur occurred and was denied. At one point Pelishek discussed events with Human Resources Director Adam Westbrook and said it felt like the Common Council was going to allow the false narratives and hostility to continue. He was told that he responded to Rendall-Araujo as a “white man of privilege”. Westbrook told Pelishek, “You are not being discriminated against” and that Pelishek had no “protected status.”
Mayor Sorenson then outsourced some of Pelishek’s job duties and refused to re-appoint him to the Harbor Centre Business Improvement District Board where Pelishek had served for roughly eight years. There were also several “public records” relating to “disciplinary” matters regarding the meeting where the racial slur was mentioned. Pelishek also reported to Filickyi-Peneski that he was being harassed, that he was set up, and that he was being targeted by Rendall-Araujo, Sorenson and Salazar. Filicky-Peneski stated that there was nothing the Common Council could do about this.
The suit details the investigation report from Attorney Hall regarding Todd Wolf. This report stated that Pelishek confirmed he made an unsolicited racial slur, that Todd Wolf told the media about the slur and the public violating Common Council orders, and that Pelishek said there was no threat at the lunch with the DEI group. The suit states that all those statements were factually untrue based on Pelishek’s interview with Hall.
The suit brings claims of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which portents employees from discrimination on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, race and/or religion. The suit claims a hostile and abusive work environment and disparate treatment. The suit also claims a violation of Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection of the law. This prohibits the government from denying employees equal protection for the law based on their race, gender, or protected expressions.
The suit also claims that Pelishek’s first amendment rights under retaliation and prior restraint were violated.
The suit requests relief in declaratory judgements, injunctions, enjoining and permanently restraining the City of Sheboygan from continuing and practicing violations, compensatory damages and punitive damages.
There are no future dates scheduled at this time regarding this suit.
It is important to note that all information presented is based on allegations made in the lawsuit filed by Chad Pelishek. That case is currently before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the court will determine its outcome.
The challenges that Sheboygan faces in poor student achievement at the high schools in the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD) and the lack of direction and leadership in the City of Sheboygan’s government have a common denominator in Mary Lynne Donohue. Donohue serves as the current School Board President of the SASD and Co-Chair of the Sheboygan County Democratic Party. Donohue has also previously served on the City of Sheboygan Common Council.
Donohue’s ties to everything happening in Sheboygan are deep. Donohue uses those ties to influence key decisions, and as evidenced in the previous post, she is comfortable advocating for causes by directly emailing the Common Council to publish a Request for Proposal that her organization drafted for the Common Council and would likely compete to secure the funding and contract for executing the work. Donohue’s connections also run into major budgetary decisions made by Sheboygan.
In the 2023 City of Sheboygan budget, the Sheboygan Press published an article on November 3, 2022, discussing the budget. Sheboygan Press reporter Maya Hilty states, “An increase in the budget for Mead Public Library is the largest proposed change in department budgets from 2022 to 2023.” The same article quotes Mead Public Library Board President Maeve Quinn on how the board unanimously approved a wage increase and expressed gratitude for the increased spending in the budget to do so.
Mead Public Library received a greater increase in funding in the 2023 budget than any other department. This increase was larger than the Police Department, Fire Department, and every other department that provides essential services to you as a taxpayer. The Mead Public Library Board President Maeve Quinn is also co-Chair of the Sheboygan County Democratic Party along with Donohue.
The following photograph comes from media reports on December 9, 2022. This illustrates that Donohue was serving as co-Chair of the Sheboygan County Democratic Party with Mead Public Library Board President Maeve Quinn at the same time the library received the largest increase in funding of any department in our city.
Donohue has been involved in the recruitment of Common Council members and has close ties to Mayor Ryan Sorenson. Mayor Sorenson has referred to Donohue as a mentor and, at one time, stated that he views Donohue as his second mother. Donohue’s involvement with the Common Council and Mayor Sorenson led her to be named in a current lawsuit against the City of Sheboygan. She is the only non-City employee or official named in this lawsuit.
When City Administrator Todd Wolf was fired without cause in January, there was a lack of clarity on who would manage the operational responsibilities of the City Administrator due to the vacancy. The Finance and Personnel Committee passed a resolution numbered 153-22-23 that appointed the Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee to take on some of the authority of the City Administrator. This was requested by department heads of Sheboygan to ensure day-to-day operations could be maintained and not require the two-week wait for Common Council approval. This went before the Common Council for approval on March 20, 2023.
Alder Amanda Salazar asked for an amendment to the resolution and asked for the body of the Common Council to make changes rather than allow just the Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee to make decisions. City of Sheboygan Assistant Attorney Liz Majerus commented that the majority of these decisions would be Human Resources-related and also Finance-related.
Alder Grazia Perella stated that she does not see much of a need for the resolution and does not see any daily tasks or responsibilities that would, in fact, hinder or prevent the Common Council as a whole from making the decision rather than one individual.
Alder Salazar made a motion to file the resolution. This means that the resolution would not be voted on, and the resolution could not be brought up again for one year. It was stated that all decisions would need to come before the Common Council.
On the roll call vote to file the resolution, Alder Mitchell abstained due to being the Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee. The motion to file the resolution passed on a 5-4 vote. Alder Roberta Filicky-Peneski voted in favor of the motion to file the resolution. She is the Vice President of the Finance and Personnel Committee, who approved the resolution and sent it to the Common Council with the recommendation for approval. Alder Filicky-Peneski was also the alder that brought the motion forward to the Council for a vote. The resolution was filed and could not be brought forward for a year. The City of Sheboygan moved forward with a lack of clarity and understanding of who was responsible for decisions on the day-to-day operations of running the City of Sheboygan. The understanding was that decisions that the City Administrator was required to make would come before the entire Common Council.
The vote to not identify a decision-maker on the day-to-day operations, leaving the decisions to the entire Common Council, was made with no alternative or options to a request that came from the City of Sheboygan Department Heads to allow the City to function efficiently. The day-to-day operations and the needs of the department heads were referred to by Alder Perella as not needed. She then voted to file the resolution. This shows a lack of understanding of the number of decisions made daily to ensure services are provided to taxpayers. An organization with a $124 million dollar budget and responsible for running a city with 50,000 residents requires efficiency and direction to function. Alder Salazar and Alder Perella demonstrated that they do not have concern or see much of a need for efficiency in daily decision-making power for the City of Sheboygan to provide you with daily services.
Since that vote, there have been multiple requests that have been brought forward to the Finance and Personnel Committee for consideration. Following is a document that was recently submitted and shown for your review:
Under staff comments, it states, “City staff has reviewed the above notice of claim and, under the authorization of the Mayor of Sheboygan, in consultation with the City Attorney and the Finance Department, have denied the notice of claim listed above” Previously, documents reviewed would state the decision made by the City Administrator on these claims In rejecting the resolution that would have allowed the Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee to have the authority to make decisions on the day-to-day operations of the city it was agreed that decisions would come before the Common Council.
Mayor Sorenson has now taken the responsibility of some day-to-day decisions from the responsibilities defined in the Municipal Code to the City Administrator. This illustrates that the needs and services of taxpayers are secondary to the power grab of Mayor Sorenson and the members of the Common Council with deep ties to Donohue.
While the day-to-day operations of the City of Sheboygan have been an afterthought, the commitment to Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been a central focus. Members of the Common Council and Donohue have advocated for a Request for Proposal to be published that was drafted by Donohue. The City’s proposed 5-Year Strategic Plan neglected priorities like Police and Fire Department and, instead, heavily incorporated elements favorable to DEI. That Strategic Plan was denied after public outcry and cost you as a taxpayer $140,000 in lost fees to a consulting company.
Budget priorities from last year, such as a new Firehouse No. 3 and development in the industrial parks have stalled. The City is moving forward with hiring a City Administrator, and the process included explicit directions from Human Resources Director Adam Westbrook that taxpayers like you, who are not City of Sheboygan employees, who attempted to attend would be asked to leave. The presentations by the two finalists for the City Administrator position were referred to as a Stakeholder Presentation. According to Mayor Sorenson, Human Resources Director Adam Westbrook and members of the Common Council, you are not a stakeholder!
Mayor Sorenson has gone rogue in approving and denying claims from residents without oversight from the Common Council. Mayor Sorenson is trampling on City Ordinances by denying resident claims that were previously the responsibility of the City Administrator. Mayor Sorenson has also trampled on the right to Free Speech by not allowing resident complaints to be on the Common Council agenda. This also prevents other residents from sharing their thoughts or opinions due to there not being an agenda item.
Again, Donohue is a major influence with the Common Council, the Mayor, and the SASD.
At a recent SASD Board meeting, Donohue referred to a Wisconsin State Report Card growth formula as “intergalactic” and difficult to explain, while the formula rewards schools that are increasing the academic achievement of students who have been traditionally marginalized by the educational system.
These are people that would benefit from relevant DEI work, work that focused on helping people of color, people with disabilities, and people who are economically disadvantaged. As Chair of the Sheboygan Justice Equity group and an advocate for DEI work, Donohue dismissed another school that is doing better than Sheboygan South in increasing achievement in these marginalized populations.
Under the leadership of Donohue, DEI in Sheboygan has demonstrated a different priority than enriching the lives of marginalized populations.
The following are pictures from Sheboygan South High School’s library of books that had to be removed after public outrage drove the SASD administration and School Board to act. These pictures were in books available to be checked out in a library of a school that was under the governance of School Board President Mary Lynne Donohue. The picture of Mayor Sorenson was from the Pride Event in Sheboygan on June 24 and was published on the Visit Sheboygan Facebook page.
We caution you that some of the images from the books that were available for students in the Sheboygan South High School Library are explicit.
This is what DEI looks like under Mayor Sorenson and School Board President Mary Lynne Donohue!
The City of Sheboygan is currently facing many challenges. There has been recent attention brought to the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD) and the academic failures of the high schools. Additionally, the City of Sheboygan’s government is in a pending budget crisis due to the firing of the City Administrator. Furthermore, significant decreases in tax revenue are on the horizon with the expected closing of the power plant. The priorities from last year’s budget are in danger of not being delivered, as the Firehouse 3 project and the development of the industrial parks have stalled.
The filling of the vacant City Administrator position is moving forward with a stakeholder presentation from the two finalists on Monday. HR Director Adam Westbrook communicated to City employees that they would not be able to ask questions and that only City employees would be allowed to attend. The public was entirely eliminated from the hiring process, and Westbrook even informed City employees that if they shared or invited non-employees, they would be asked to leave. Taxpayers like you are not viewed as stakeholders in the hiring of the most important position the City of Sheboygan will hire.
The overall City employee experience has been concerning, as key services like the Human Resources office have been outsourced, and City employees fear sharing concerns due to the risk of being terminated without cause, similar to former City Administrator Todd Wolf. City Hall heavily emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, but day-to-day operations are often overlooked.
The challenges faced by the City of Sheboygan and the Sheboygan Area School District have something in common.
Mary Lynn Donohue has a history of serving the City of Sheboygan. She has served on the Common Council and currently serves as President of the Sheboygan Area School District (SASD) School Board.
Donohue previously advocated to the Common Council as the Chair of the Sheboygan Justice Equity group by submitting a Request for Proposal (RFP) to City leadership with the aim to research, identify, and strategize on a process to bring a diverse, equitable, and inclusive structure to City government. Below is a copy of an email that Donohue sent to the Common Council on October 28, 2022, with the subject: “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Issues in the City.”
At the SASD School Board meeting on June 13, 2023, the Board was hearing updates on the strategic plan and the progress of the district. Donohue was referencing concerns regarding the Wisconsin State Report Card Scores of Sheboygan South High School and Green Bay East High School. It has been previously reported that Green Bay East High School has a score of 70.6, which is defined as “Exceeds Expectations,” while Sheboygan South High School has a score of 41.2, which is defined as “Fails to Meet Expectations.”
Donohue expressed concern over how South High School can have higher achievement scores in Reading, Math, and a better graduation rate than Green Bay East High School and stated that she can show many ways that South High School is better than Green Bay East High School.
There was then a discussion of how the report card places emphasis on growth to balance the score and challenges of schools serving populations that are more diverse in ethnicity and economic status. The Department of Public Instruction implemented the growth factor to show the hard work that schools do to improve learning for student groups that face challenges in everyday life. Ms. Donohue referred to this as “some intergalactic growth formula.”
In examining the report card data, this is the definition under the growth section directly from the report card:
“This priority area measures the year-to-year student progress on statewide tests. It uses a value-added model that seeks to control for circumstances beyond the influence of educators. A high-value added score means that on average students in the school are progressing more quickly than other, similar students. Growth is scored from 0 to 100 to match the other priority areas and is a conversion from the roughly 0 to 6 value-added score.”
The growth scores are as follows:
Green Bay East High School: 80.3
Sheboygan South High School: 33.7
The report card then provides data of growth in Reading and Math for groups of students that have been traditionally marginalized by the education system.
Here is a breakdown of a small sample of the data (Scores go from 0-6. The higher the number, the better the score):
Data Retrieved from: https://apps2.dpi.wi.gov/reportcards/ Department of Public Instruction School Report Cards 2021-2022 School Year for Green Bay East High School and Sheboygan South High School
The data illustrates that Green Bay East High School is more successful in serving students of traditionally marginalized populations than Sheboygan South High School. Donohue’s claim that she can show many ways Sheboygan South High School is better than Green Bay East High School is alarming. As Chair of the Sheboygan Justice Equity group, she does not seem to have the ability to analyze data and determine that East High School is outperforming South High School in educating students of marginalized populations.
Donohue did not use her platform as School Board President to advocate for South High School to better serve the needs of students in poverty, students with disabilities, and students of color.
This calls into question Donohue’s expertise in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Donohue also has ties to members of the Common Council and Mayor Ryan Sorenson. She serves as one of the leaders in the local Democratic party. Donohue is involved in the focus on DEI in Sheboygan, and her ties to this are deep. The current version of DEI in the schools and the city government has been prevalent for the last year. Donohue serving as a chair of an organization that is focused on DEI and emailing the Common Council directly to open a request for proposal that her organization drafted is brazen. It is uncommon for an organization seeking to bid on a proposal to submit a draft of a proposal to the Common Council and then follow up to encourage the Common Council to publish the request for proposal.
This brazen nature illustrates the connection of Donohue to members of the Common Council and to Mayor Sorenson.
The City of Sheboygan is operating with no structure or leadership currently on key issues like the official budget process, strategic plan, and completion of budget priorities from the current year. The City has no defined process on who can approve spending or sign-off on key measures in the absence of a City Administrator. The City of Sheboygan is currently on a path of fiscal uncertainty that will impact you soon, following the significant increases in property assessments you recently received!
Donohue is connected to current City leadership and is School Board President of the SASD. Donohue is also so closely connected to the City of Sheboygan government that she is named in a pending lawsuit regarding the termination without cause of former City Administrator Todd Wolf. The connection is even stronger in that Donohue was initially being represented in that case by City of Sheboygan Attorney Chuck Adams.
Would City of Sheboygan Attorney Chuck Adams represent any other private citizen of Sheboygan in a court case?
The serious concerns expressed on this site about student achievement at the high schools in the SASD and the corruption at City Hall have one common denominator… Mary Lynn Donohue.
Take Back Sheboygan County 