Wickey and Perez verbally spar as Sturgis City Commission turmoil continues

The Sturgis City Commission’s internal turbulence spilled over to its meeting Wednesday, as Mayor Frank Perez and Commissioner Justin Wickey traded barbs during commissioner comments. 

The regular business meeting proceeded without much discussion of the results of the external investigation and Commissioner Aaron Miller’s new call for Perez to resign until commissioner comments began. Then, Wickey called on Perez to resign and, if he didn’t, urged residents to vote for his opponent, Stoney Summey in this November’s election. 

Perez is running for reelection as Sturgis District 4 commissioner against challenger Stoney Summey. Sturgis commissioners elect the mayor from among themselves during their annual organizational meeting each November. 

“Vote for Stoney Summey must be your battle cry,” Wickey said, after reading a letter from one of his constituents that called for Perez to resign. 

Wickey continued, criticizing Perez and his term as mayor. His comments were, in part, as follows:

“The investigation makes it painfully clear of the mayor’s wrongdoing. Commissioners have parameters we are legally obligated to work within. Mayor Perez chooses when, or if, he will stay within those parameters. He has caused great harm to the city because of his actions and triggering an expensive investigation he has singlehandedly caused the city to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars having to now pay two city manager salaries along with the cost of the investigation.

The right thing for mayor Perez to do is resign. If he refuses, I implore the people of precinct four to vote him out. He has done enough damage to the city, he has embarrassed this commission and made it a difficult environment for city staff to work under. If he remains, finding a quality, long term city manager could be near impossible. They do their homework before accepting a job.”

While Wickey voted to censure and remove Perez from his mayoral duties prior to the investigation, this is his most substantial public statement on the matter. Wickey also shared comments with the Sturgis Journal following the results of the investigation. 

Perez responded to Wickey during commissioner comments and questioned Wickey’s faith and role as a pastor in the community during a statement he read. 

“I’m deeply disappointed that commissioner Wickey, who serves as a pastor, choosing to not practice the fundamental principle of forgiving one’s neighbor,” Perez began. “Ten days after my apology, he decides to release a statement, instead of extending grace, he continues to make unharmful, hateful, and untrue allegations. As a pastor, you don’t get to pick and choose what part of the bible you adhere to.” 

Perez continued by reading Wickey’s church’s mission statement which he says Wickey’s actions are in opposition to. 

Perez also took issue with Wickey’s claim that his actions cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses related to former City Manager Andrew Kuk’s departure, the subsequent investigation, and the hiring of an interim city manager. Perez disputed that he was responsible for those expenses, pointing to the investigation’s finding that he did not violate the Open Meetings Act. However, the investigation did conclude that he violated the City Charter and acted inconsistently with commission policy. 

The investigation concluded that Perez violated Chapter IX, Section 4(n) of the City Charter and “acted in a manner inconsistent” with Section 1 of the Commission Procedural Policy. The investigator recommended additional training on city employment policies and procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as reinforcement of commissioners’ obligations under the Open Meetings Act. 

“You got the report you wanted and unfortunately it didn’t give you the result you wanted. But I’m the bad guy, right? Unbelievable,” Perez said. “We gotta get through this and we gotta work together, we can’t continue to turn a blind eye. You gotta put your big boy pants on cause right is right and wrong is wrong.” 

Perez admits he made mistakes and says he took ownership of them. 

“I’ve made mistakes and I’ve apologized for them. But for you [Wickey] and others to continue this circus, come on. Do the right thing,” Perez said. 

“Im trying,” Wickey responded, marking the only back and forth between the two. 

“It doesn’t look like it,” said Perez. 

Perez concluded by emphasizing that he’s okay to be unpopular as he will always investigate claims he hears from staff or residents regarding city matters. 

“I love everyone and I don’t even use the word hate,” Perez said before adjouring the meeting. 

Commissioners Aaron Miller and Jeff Mullins, who have been the two most outspoken commissioners throughout the process and were the ones who called on Perez’s resignation in the first place, were both absent from Wednesday’s meeting. 

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.