Dewey council censures commissioner over sex joke

Dewey Beach commissioners voted 3-1 to censure James “Zeke” Przygocki over an incident at town hall that occurred more than two months ago. Przygocki has taken heat since then, but after the Saturday, April 10 vote, the commissioner said he will not resign.

“I’m human. I’m sorry,” he said. “I will not leave my position. I’ll do the best damn job I can.”

Mayor Rick Solloway said commissioners mishandled the incident by taking it into their own hands rather than passing it to the board of ethics. By censuring Przygocki, he said commissioners were acting in violation of town code.

“To this day, two months later, the code has not been followed,” he said. “This should not be handled by these five commissioners.”

The resolution to censure Przygocki included a recommendation that he resign over the incident, which involved a box of condoms and a town employee and which attacked Commissioner Diane Hanson.

Commissioner Marc Appelbaum, who had earlier called for Przygocki’s resignation, said in the private sector, Przygocki’s actions would have earned him swift termination. But instead of again asking the commissioner to resign, Appelbaum called for council to make a decision and move past the controversy.

“I do not believe this is Zeke’s nature,” he said. “I do not believe this is representative of who Zeke is. It’s time for us to move on.”

Town webmaster Dick Cleaveland said Przygocki’s indiscretion won’t hinder his ability to serve as a commissioner.

“Zeke recognizes he screwed up,” Cleaveland said. “I believe he can be fully effective.”

Hanson first sought Przygocki’s resignation at the Saturday, March 13 council meeting. Her motion died for lack of a second. With another measure on the table, Hanson told Dewey citizens she never wished for this to become a high-profile fiasco, and she hoped the incident would come to a quick resolution.

Property owner Lynn Meyer said Przygocki’s actions will only worsen the stigma of impropriety that hangs about Dewey Beach in the media.

“I don’t think he belongs on a commission,” she said. “I think he belongs in a barn.”

Property owner Jim Laird told commissioners Przygocki’s actions opened the town to possible legal action.

“If you do not take action, I believe Ms. Hanson should file suit,” he said.

Hanson said she would have preferred to not make this a commissioners’ issue, but Dewey doesn’t have a board of ethics. Cleaveland said the town does, and read a list of its members published on the town website.

Board Chairman Bill Kloepfer said no one contacted him about the incident, nor had anyone notified him of the board’s status.

“I was the chairman of the board of ethics,” he said. “I’ve often wondered what became of it. I was never notified that it had been abolished.”

Appelbaum said council should act on the measure in the interest of reaching a resolution. He voted with Hanson and Commissioner Marty Seitz in favor of the resolution, with Przygocki voicing a firm “nay.” Solloway abstained.

Solloway closed the meeting without opening the floor for public comment, citing the meeting’s four-hour running time.

Property owner Marcia Shieck objected; Solloway asked her and any others with comments to submit their words in writing.

Shieck said she approached Solloway after the meeting and told the mayor it was disrespectful to conclude the meeting without taking comment.

She said Solloway told her she was being hostile and asked Chief of Police Sam Mackert to escort her from the Lifesaving Station. Shieck said she left on her own accord.

Property owner Fran Gdowski was with Shieck when she approached Solloway. She said she didn’t think Shieck was being overly aggressive.

“It wasn’t like she was threatening him or anything like that,” Gdowski later said. “I thought it was a bit over the top.”

Przygocki and Solloway were unavailable for comment.