Superior, Wis., city council member resigns over 'inappropriate' messages

DULUTH — A Superior, Wis., City Council member resigned this week following a police investigation into Facebook messages described as "harassment" that he allegedly sent to a woman.

Superior Mayor Jim Paine asked for the resignation of Warren Bender, 71, a council member first elected in 2008. Police investigated after other council members and Paine received complaints from the husband of the woman about messages allegedly sent from Bender's Facebook account.

In a memo to Paine and Superior's city clerk, Bender cited years of mental and physical medical problems, and said he would resign to seek help "in a sincere effort to remain a respected and proactive citizen of Superior."

"To those who have been negatively affected by my inadvertent actions, I accept responsibility, and I emphatically apologize," he wrote.

According to a Superior Police Department report, Bender's repeated messages suggested to the woman they meet in a hotel or at her home. She had previously accepted a "friend" request from him because they had mutual Facebook friends, but did not respond to his messages. Her husband had initially contacted police anonymously, the report says, complaining of a City Council member harassing his wife. According to the report, the woman wasn't interested in taking part in the investigation unless Bender continued to contact her.

Paine, who spoke with the woman, wrote in a statement for police that the woman told him Bender tried to solicit sexual acts from her several times since mid-September.

"She said that he was now regularly asking for her address and that she was afraid," Paine wrote, noting the messages were "inappropriate" but not explicit. "She seemed to be confused, upset, and possibly embarrassed. She did not want people to believe she had encouraged this behavior in any way."

Paine said in a separate statement that at the conclusion of the police investigation, he spoke with Bender.

"While not all of the facts are clear, I urged him to consider the best interests of the city and his constituents," Paine said. "I then requested and received his resignation from the City Council."

John Kiel, Superior's assistant police chief, said the department has no plans to request criminal charges against Bender.