CITY OF BUCHANAN COMMISSION UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

BUCHANAN – Buchanan City Commissioners have asked fellow Commissioner Dan Vigansky to resign or be removed from office. Their action at Monday night’s City Commission meeting came after they held a censure hearing against him Dec. 11 and found he had committed misconduct in office.

That misconduct included four complaints alleging Vigansky violated the city’s ethics policy, rules of procedure and code of conduct. Three of the four complaints involved releasing confidential information, calling grievances against then City Manager Ben Eldridge retaliatory and harassing city staff about the grievances.

The fourth complaint alleged that Vigansky had addressed black residents attending a local governmental board last summer as “you people” and “those people”. Resident James Busby made the initial complaint about Vigansky’s statements to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and also testified at the Dec. 11 censure hearing.

Both Vigansky and Mayor Sean Denison face recall efforts against them. Organizers of the Denison recall cited his suspension of Eldridge in early November, while organizers of the Vigansky recall cited his “you people” and related statements. If enough signatures are collected, recall elections could take place in either May or November.

Busby noted last week that he also made a police report about Vigansky’s statements during and after the June Buchanan Area Recreation Board meeting which was turned over to the Berrien County Sheriff Department.

He said Vigansky made a threatening statement to him after that meeting in a confrontation between the two. He said the county prosecutor told him he was not going to authorize charges against Vigansky because there was not a physical assault.

“Dan intervened in the situation and in my conversation with another city commissioner,” Busby said. “I asked if he could stop being sexist and a bigot and Dan said he always referred to blacks and others as ‘you people’. He also said I’d better watch out, that he was a tough white man. Dan always does this stuff for attention.”

“His job is to be the commissioner for everybody,” Busby added. “He always refers to our neighborhood as ‘you people’. I’m tired of being put down. I want people to know why I filed the Civil Rights complaint and the police report.”

He noted that if Vigansky is concerned about the money the city is spending on attorney fees and recalls, he should resign so the city wouldn’t have to spend that money. “He has to hold some accountability,” Busby said, adding that he will withdraw his Civil Rights complaint if Vigansky resigns.

He said Buchanan has always been a very close-knit community and that one person like Vigansky shouldn’t be causing division. He said he’s not concerned that his own actions are dividing the community, noting that people will understand once they know the whole truth.

For his part, Vigansky has a different view of his interactions with Busby and other city officials. He said the charges against him were exaggerated and trumped up. He has filed his own complaints with the county and the state about the conduct of other city commissioners in allegedly violating the Open Meetings Act.

He said that the situation with Busby last June has been “all twisted around.” He called Busby a race baiter and said Busby called him “an old man on oxygen” and had his finger in his face. He said the Civil Rights complaint Busby made is frivolous and has cost the city over $2,000 in attorney fees.

In commissioner reports at the end of Monday’s meeting, Vigansky called the whole process of the censure “a dog and pony show” from “a joke of a commission.” “It’s insulting,” he said. “You say I’m insulting, just wait until you get the attorney bills for dealing with this.”

“I’ve thought about this for 30 days,” he added. “I’ve stepped up and I’ve stepped out. I’ve been called racist and sexist and confrontational. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. You want to spend tax dollars to throw me out. Good luck getting the governor to throw me out and getting the signatures to recall me.”

Vigansky said after the meeting that he had broken no laws and had been charged with racism and sexism based on hearsay and not the truth. “Working people should think about what they’re doing to me and how easy it is to be cancelled,” he said. “I’m not going to bow down to a few people.”

Denison spoke at the end of the meeting. He first thanked city employees for all their hard work and said they don’t deserve the criticism they’ve received during the recent Eldridge controversy. He then said he wanted to defend his own name.

“You can criticize and disagree with me, but nothing involved with this circus was related to me,” he said. “There were no grievances filed against me. I did what I was obligated to do. I’m prepared to spend my own personal resources to protect my name.”

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