Ault – The mayor’s battle with the bottle has drawn more political ire and publicity than most folks in this rural town of 1,400 can remember.
First, there was chatter that the mayor, James Fladung, was missing meetings because he was drinking too much. Then in April, he was arrested at his home, accused of being drunk and shoving his son.
Suddenly, Ault was named in wire reports across the country about its drunken mayor.
Since then, a recall election has been organized. The trustees have locked out the mayor from Town Hall, and the mayor has sued the trustees.
Now, there’s Dr. Phil.
Turns out producers for the famous television shrink saw the reports of the mayor’s arrest and reached out to help the mayor and his family – counseling that is expected to be aired nationally within the next two weeks.
It’s the kind of public attention Ault doesn’t need, town leaders say, a conundrum that Dr. Phil is not offering advice about.
“Jim Fladung is one of the most brilliant council members and mayor we’ve ever had,” said resident Phil Tidwell. “But I’ve asked him, ‘Please, please don’t drag the town through this.”‘
Fladung insists his addiction has never tripped him up as mayor. But plenty of folks, including the town trustees, say his drinking problem has hampered his work and become a high-profile embarrassment.
“There just multiple items that the trustees felt they and the town just didn’t want to deal with anymore,” said town attorney Russ Anson.
But the 50-year-old Fladung, who along with his wife and son taped a segment with Dr. Phil last month, says his leadership is needed now more than ever, as the fledgling farming town north of Greeley and east of Fort Collins considers building a prison to help boost a depressed economy.
“I’ve got to listen to people who have come to me and said that I’m the best person to look out for this town,” said Fladung, adding that he has not had a drink in two months and is more clear-headed than ever.
He is suing Ault’s town trustees, who last month kicked him out of his mayor’s seat and changed the locks on town hall to keep out Fladung after hours.
Fladung claims his ouster was illegal because it wasn’t due to official misconduct, only his addiction to alcohol.
If Ault’s residents want Fladung out, then they can vote him out in a recall election scheduled for December, said his attorney, George Parker. “The Board of Trustees took it upon themselves to snatch the constitutional power out of the hands of the voters and to unilaterally attempt to remove the duly elected town’s mayor,” he said.
Whether the trustees were within their rights to expel the mayor isn’t clear, said Rachel Allen, staff attorney for the Colorado Municipal League.
If Fladung’s suit goes to trial, a ruling could spell out what specific behaviors should lead to the dismissal of an elected mayor or town board member in the 165 towns in Colorado governed only by state statute, Allen said.
“Nobody knows for sure what is good cause to remove a member,” she said. “It could clear up the dusty corners of the law.”
Fladung’s wife, Jill, says she understands why the trustees don’t want to deal with the stigma of a mayor fighting alcoholism.
“But this is a lot like a lynch mob working here,” she said. “It’s not illegal to be an alcoholic and be on the town board.”
Fladung’s critics, however, say he missed meetings because of a 45-day alcohol treatment program, and the trustees grew tired of Fladung showing up late to meetings with booze on his breath, Anson said.
“He should take care of his problem now, and if he wants to come back and work as a board member, that’s fine,” said Ed Lesh, a leader of the recall campaign.
Over the past year, Fladung says, he could sense his life spinning out of control.
His pint-of-vodka-a-day habit was causing money problems because he couldn’t finish jobs at his carpentry business. He was endangering his health and his home life became a mess.
“We never knew which Jim we would get, whether he’d be sober or drunk,” Jill Fladung said.
Still, Fladung says, his drinking never affected his mayoral work. He said he avoided the bottle two days before a meeting and maintained a 92 percent attendance rate as mayor. “I never left this house and went to a meeting inebriated,” he said.
But that didn’t stop his wife from kicking him out of the house in January. In April, he was arrested.
Fladung said he and his son were tussling over car keys and that it never got that physical. “(Fladung’s) blood alcohol level was 0.456; he couldn’t beat up a bunny,” Jill Fladung said.
Fladung pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was given a deferred sentence. If he completes a 45-day alcohol treatment program, his arrest record will be cleared.
Fladung says his outpatient treatment schedule should allow him time to attend a full slate of town board meetings. He also is working steadily and says he feels better than he ever has.
Whether he’s ready to continue being mayor may be a question best left to Dr. Phil. In the meantime, residents are expected to have their say Dec. 12, when the recall effort goes to a vote.
“My thinking is clearing up, and I am working hard,” Fladung said. “And I’m determined not to turn away from this town.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
