Those are just three of the adjectives that come to mind to describe the behavior of Shorewood Mayor Jennifer Labadie at the Sept. 14, 2026 Shorewood council work session.
What should have been a routine clarification of the ground rules for Matters From the Floor (MFTF) following Labadie’s mishandling of an agitated resident at the previous meeting, instead became a demonstration of privilege and high-handedness by Labadie.
The catalyst for this discussion was an incident from the August 27 meeting. During MFTF, an elderly veteran spoke about a neighbor dispute, then tried to speak later on a different topic. She attempted to silence him. He became more upset. Labadie ruled him out of order. . Labadie escalated the situation, stopped the meeting and had staff call the police. An angry elderly veteran was escorted home by three officers because he insisted on speaking twice at a city council meeting. After checking the by-laws, council member DiGruttolo reported that she found nothing barring a second turn at the podium. When DiGruttolo suggested the council owed him an apology for being misinformed, Labadie’s answer was: “No, I will not do that.“
That same night, after DiGruttolo questioned the mayor on the possible causes of a police committee dispute (where Labadie serves), Labadie’s response was a suggestion that DiGruttolo attend the committee meetings herself “instead of sitting there, rolling your eyes.” Told to look inward, Labadie turned it around: “Look in the mirror yourself.” That’s a rude schoolyard comeback.
Fast-forward to the September 14 work session, which opened with a closed-door “security” briefing, possibly in response to fallout from the confrontation with the veteran at the podium. When the doors reopened, the council hashed out new rules for public comment. Three members DiGruttolo, Gorham, and Sanschagrin, voted for a more flexible policy. Labadie and Maddy voted “no.” The positions broke down along three lines:
- An individual can speak at the podium, 1 time, for up to 5 minutes, about one or more topics. This is the position that Labadie argued for.
- An individual can speak at the podium about any subject, multiple times with an overall limit of 5 minutes. This was supported by Council members Sanschagrin, DiGruttolo and Gorham.
- Councilmember Dustin Maddy reiterated his longstanding position that he finds his constituents speaking at MFTF a complete waste of time and they should just send an email.
Both the first two arguments are reasonable and defensible and the majority of council members voted for option #2.
It was the lead up to that decision and the discussion following where Jennifer Labadie’s behavior became problematic and objectionable.
After DiGruttolo stated her position, Labadie rudely and abruptly cut her off with ”You’ve said your opinion. Other Council members?”
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After additional discussion, Sanschagrin, Digruttolo and Gorham chose to allow the more flexible option #2.
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That should have been the end of it but in what has become a pattern with her, Labadie kept arguing her position after the votes were cast. She pressed her objection deep into the informal discussion that followed, prompting Gorham to cite the rules that council members aren’t supposed to relitigate a decided vote. Labadie’s defense was that a work session doesn’t count: “We’re in a work session. It’s discussion time. We can all do that anytime we want.” She commented further, “I guarantee there’ll be an article written about it.” Well, here it is.
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We have seen this all before. She has a history of scolding Sanschagrin and tangling with DiGruttolo at past meetings. A mayor who cuts off residents, calls the police on an elderly veteran, tells a colleague to check herself in the mirror, and refuses to accept a settled vote isn’t presiding over a meeting; she’s litigating against it. Shorewood residents didn’t vote for a mayor who treats disagreement with defiance.
The office of the mayor includes losing gracefully, apologizing on the record when appropriate, and letting five minutes at a podium be exactly that: five minutes, not a security threat. It also means accepting that the other council members are peers, not subordinates to be bullied.
As if taking their cue from the mayor, it appears when viewing council meetings, that certain staff persons have started to adopt the same sort of argumentative and disrespectful behavior to some elected members of the council. In any other organization, this type of behavior shown by employees to their bosses would be dealt with immediately.
The council chamber belongs to the residents who come to speak and the members they elected to hear them. Respect should run from the dais to the podium, and from staff to the elected officials they answer to. The council has now settled, in public and by vote, how residents will be heard. What’s left is for the mayor to honor it: listen, disagree without disrespect, and let a settled question stay settled. Do that, and this is the last article we’ll write on the subject.
Editor’s note: SCA invites any member of the council to submit a correction or rebuttal for publication to: info@shorewoodcitizenadvocates.com.
More reading:
Aug. 24, 2026 Council Meeting Recap, SCA, Aug. 2024
One Mayor, Two Committees, SCA, July, 2026
Sanschagrin challenged for abstaining on a vote, SCA, May, 2023
Inappropriate & Unprofessional Comments from the Mayor, (with apology) SCA, Dec. 2023
What’s Your Beef? SCA, Jan. 2025
A Council Tied in Knots About Hearing from the Public, SCA, May, 2023
