Mounting public interest and growing questions and concerns from Valparaiso City Council members Monday resulted in the unexpected appearance of the three figures at the root of recent controversy about the residency of dentist Dr. Robert Behrend, who serves as president of the Valparaiso School Board.
An angry and distraught Behrend was the final speaker during the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, following earlier remarks from school board vice president Erika Watkins and also Kathy Watts, the latter who had served as Watkins campaign manager last year during her run for state representative.
Behrend, in his second term as a Valparaiso City Council appointee to the school board, came under fire from two residents during the Jan. 23 school board meeting who called for him to resign after public scrutiny about a family Christmas card, among other documents, which some say represent his recent move to a new address in Hartland, Wisconsin. They allege the documents are proof of the new community where Behrend is living, rather than in Valparaiso during the final six months of his term.
“For the record, my address is 1852 Hamstead Court Valparaiso, Indiana, and what some people in this room have put my family through, no one should ever have to be put through,” said Behrend, who addressed the council while turning frequently to implicate members of the general public seated in the council chambers.
“What I have seen displayed in this community is disgusting. I’ve got my wife at home crying that she made a mistake for sending out a Christmas card. I was advised by counsel to not come here and speak tonight. But when I heard what was being said, I came here.”
Behrend described his home in Wisconsin as his “family summer home” and said his time divided between Valparaiso and the Wisconsin address was to allow him to assist his son in opening a new dental practice in Wisconsin.
“I have a home in downtown Milwaukee too, where my son Sam lives; do you want to harass him too?” Behrend said.
“I also have a home in Naples, Florida too. Do you want to come there and harass us? My wife and I have given back to this community over and over again. Everybody in this room needs to take pause.”
Behrend said he had an earlier “four-minute phone call from six days ago” with Vice President Watkins and he verified Valparaiso remained his primary residence.
“Everyone on the board knew this about my address, except Erika apparently,” Behrend said.
Watkins told the council Monday she too did not intend to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“This is not politically motivated,” said Watkins, who was among the first to speak during the public comment.
“Kathy Watts, yes, was my campaign manager but she was not the first to tell me about Rob Behrend not living here.”
Watkins said her appointment to the school board came at the same time as Behrend.
“Usually, during the four-year term, you serve as school board member, then move to secretary, vice president and then presidency,” Watkins said.
“That’s how the cycle usually takes place. Somehow though, in my tenure, it did not happen that way. I’m not going to force something that was not to be. I had asked Robert since he had already had his term as president, if I could have that position and it was not granted. I’m not trying to waste the council’s time or the school board’s time because what we are here for is to serve the children. And I want to do that with honesty and integrity.”
Both council member Emilie Hunt, D-At-large, and Mayor Jon Costas reminded all of the speakers, as well as the council and public at the meeting that even though the city council has the power to appoint school board members, the same body does not have the right to remove members.
City Attorney Patrick Lyp clarified that the school board is responsible for removing a member and appointing a new one.
Council members Peter Anderson, R-5th, and Jack Pupillo, R-4th, spoke in support of Behrend while Robert Cotton, D-2nd, and Barbara Domer, D-3rd, urged he should resign his position.
Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
