Despite allegations of smoking marijuana in a local restaurant, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, will remain on the Alcohol Licensing Review Committee for his next two-year term as alder.
On Feb. 24, the Wisconsin State Journal ran a story about Madison Police Department Officer Carrie Hemming quickly leaving the third floor of Zander’s, where Verveer and owner Mohamed Barketallah were present, after allegedly smelling marijuana. In the story, sources questioned Verveer’s continual presence on the ALRC due to his close involvement with the owners of those restaurants being regulated by the committee.
According to Verveer, that “non-story” is where all of the allegations and rumors of being kicked off ALRC stemmed from.
“In that story, it mentioned more than once ALRC asked other city officials if I should step down or at least not be reappointed a couple years later when my term expires. … To me, it wasn’t any big issue or big deal,” Verveer said. “I don’t know if anyone was lobbying to the mayor not to have me back on the committee. Literally, it was the State Journal and that article that brought this up.”
According to Rachel Strauch-Nelson, spokesperson for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, keeping Verveer off the ALRC after the end of his past term was discussed after the allegations arose. However, Cieslewicz decided to reappoint Verveer to the committee Friday.
“It was discussed, but Ald. Verveer is a very dedicated alder that is highly regarded by both his colleagues and the community,” Strauch-Nelson said. “There is no solid information that would prevent his reappointment.”
Ald. Michael Schumacher, District 18 and another member of ALRC, agreed with the mayor’s decision, saying though there were allegations, they have yet to be proven and everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt. He added Verveer is a very knowledgeable person and provides a value and an asset to the committee.
However, Schumacher did voice concern regarding Verveer’s close relationship to many of the establishments ALRC regulates.
“We may have to pay more attention to our relationship to the community we are regulating,” Schumacher said. “It’s on that level that I think — given all the allegations and given some of the recent events — that Ald. Verveer probably has to pay a bit more attention to. Other than that, I don’t know if it’s fair to act on just allegations.”
If the allegations were to prove true, Schumacher said he would not ask that Verveer be removed from the committee but would hope that he would have the professional judgment to know what his future should be on the committee.
“It’s one of those things that I believe when we cross that bridge, [Verveer] will be the best judge, and the mayor will have to make his decision as well,” he said.
Strauch-Nelson said she preferred not to comment on the issue but said if the allegations were proven true, it is something the mayor would have to address.
Overall, Verveer thinks his presence and involvement on the ALRC is crucial to his job as alder to the downtown area and he is happy to have been reappointed to the committee.
“I have served on ALRC for many years now. I believe that I do a good job, and it is a very important committee particularly to the down-town area,” Verveer said. “Liquor license issues have always been a fairly important part of the job that I do representing the downtown. So, I think it’s positive for my constituents to have a seat at the table where these decisions are made.”
