The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the mayor of Davenport in a dispute with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission. In a 4 to 1 decision, justices said the mayor can remove a commissioner without a specific reason. Or legally speaking, without "a showing of cause."
In December, 2017, Mayor Frank Klipsch appointed Nicole Bribriesco-Ledger for a two-year term on the Civil Rights Commission. Then in April of 2019, he notified her and three other members that he had removed them from the commission. She contested her removal and went to court.
A Scott County judge decided in Bribriesco-Ledger's favor that the mayor had to show cause. But the Iowa Supreme Court concluded "no rule limits the grounds for termination of a local civil rights commissioner."
