Wrongly Fired Franklin Director of Planning Claims Nelson Directed Staff to Bypass State Statues and Code - "they voted for me"

Franklin Community News (FCN) has obtained August 2023 records that show Mayor John Nelson conducted an investigation into former Franklin Planning Manager Laurie Miller.  The investigation paints a picture that Nelson and his Director of Administration Kelly Hersh would fight staff and direct staff to bypass code and state statues in approving items that do not meet code for development and construction.  FCN has obtained over 350 pages of open records that substantiate Millers claims.  Millers claims essentially show pay for play and bribery by Mayor John Nelson and his Director of Administration Kelly Hersh.  If the allegations are proven, Nelson and Hersh, who is also defined as a "pubic official" under state statues, are in violation of Wisconsin Statue 946.12 Misconduct in Public Office. If convicted carry a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 3 years and 6 months, or both 939.50(3)(I).

FCN confirmed, with open records, that Ms. Miller settled a wrongful termination case with the City of Franklin for $60,000.

On Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 4:08pm Mayor Nelson sent an email to Miller with a cc: to Kelly Hersch and Dana Zahn the Franklin Director of HR.  The email outlines allegations against Miller.  In the preface of the email Mayor Nelson states "All employees, especially those in leadership roles, must uphold the highest professionalism, behavior, and ethics standards to ensure our municipalities success and reputation."

The allegations identified against Miller:

1.  Unprofessional Conduct

2.  Failure to Conform with Generally Accepted Standards of Good Behavior

3.  Conduct Detrimental to the interest of the City.

The specific incident identified:

"On August 16, 2023 a meeting was held at City Hall in the lower-level conference room to address concerns the planning Department raised with applicant Hiller Ford, Jay Hiller (owner), Mark Carstensen (Carstensen Construction), and Justin Johnson (JSD Professional Services, Inc.) represented the applicant, Principal Planner Regulo Martinez-Montilva, Assistant City Engineer Tyler Beinlich, Director of Administration Kelly Hersch, and you represented the City.  At approximately 2:45pm, you made accusations stating that a Special Use Permit issued by the Common Council in 2015 for the Hiller Ford project was an illegal nonconforming use.  You said that whoever worked on that project at the City had made a mistake.  At the mention of my name by Mark Carstensen, you responded, "So if the Mayor chooses to go against this, we're gonna report him because, at this point, we have too many projects going on.  Mark Carstensen replied, "Well, you don't have to threaten people here," at this point, you stated, "I'm not threatening....this is unethical".

Miller was informed that that she would meet with Hersh and Nelson on August 21, 2023 to be heard on this matter and could have one representative with her.

The email concludes with:

"Making threats and accusations against your supervisor during a business meeting with a third party is unprofessional and constitutes a failure to conform to generally accepted standards of good behavior.  Furthermore the City of Franklin is interested in conducting City business professionally and appropriately.  You may face disciplinary action due to failing to meet the City of Franklin's expectations."

On Monday, August 21, 2023, Miller responded to the 4:08pm Saturday night email from Mayor Nelson. The email was sent to the Mayor and Hersch and cc to the Common Council and HR Director Zahn.  In Millers response she indicates the following:

"There seems to be this continuous culture of contacting the Mayor/City Admin to fight staff on items that are required by the code/statute and you (Nelson), specifically giving the notion to applicants that you (Nelson) can strong arm staff to approving things that do not meet code, to help them achieve their project."

"Hiller Ford is an excellent example where I have an applicant whose project does not meet code, to help them achieve their project.  The applicant has been threatening staff that the Mayor "told him he will take care of it". and the applicant will not have to abide by code."

"I 100% stated that the Mayor cannot supersede code and would have to be reported.  Later in the meeting you (Nelson) began saying that you would "take care of the situation" and "you would be changing the code to help them".  I did acknowledge that past employees made mistakes because the best was to move forward is to recognize the mistake and ensure it does not happen again".

"This is very similar to the situation that is occurring with Awe's Orchard, Carma, the ROC, and Land By Label.  In these situations, you (Nelson) have indicated that these individuals must be accommodated despite not meeting code or following procedures as they are "your partners" or "voted for you".  You (Nelson) have told me "you can guarantee the votes".  You have directed me to remove my comments, which were very fair comments, from the Carma project staff report as you didn't want me to sink the project. These are all behaviors that are unethical."

"I do have examples of your (Nelson) abusive behavior too such as standing over

me and yelling at me disappointment for not issuing a temporary use permit for something that our code does not allow for.  You (Nelson) also raised your voice at me for not allowing the eagle scout project to go go through despite the project being within a few feet of a wetland and the eagle scout no providing a wetland delineation which is required by the state.  At that moment, you stood up, slammed your chair into the table and stormed out of the room.  There have been several meetings with you and Ms. Hersh where I'm trying to explain that, despite you not liking it, I have to do this because it is required."

"I have suggested to both you (Nelson) and Ms. Hersh to reach out to various resources to help you understand your job and staff's jobs.  Its ok to ask why staff is doing something in a specific manner but it is not OK to yell to threaten staff to follow unethical and sometimes illegal demands."

FCN has previously reported that Nelson's Mayoral election campaign team two years ago was led by County Supervisor Taylor/ROC Foundation Executive Director, Mike Zimmerman, ROC CEO, Kelly Hersh, now City of Franklin Director of Administration (former lead in law suit against Franklin for Strauss which was heard by Judge Hannah Dugan), and former Franklin Alderperson Kristen Wilhelm.  FCN also reported in May 2023, one month prior to the Franklin Mayoral election, that if Nelson won the election he was going to push Kelly Hersh in as Director of Administration.  Hersh, has no degrees or previous experience in public administration.

In multiple FCN articles over the past two years, FCN has exposed a conflict of interest with the City of Franklin (John Nelson) treating Ballpark Commons (ROC Ventures) with favored treatment on permits, tax payments, and following ordinances.  County Supervisor Steve Taylor has been in the middle of much of the ROC Ventures controversy as Taylor is the Executive Director of the ROC Foundation, a position he was given by Zimmerman as a reward for pushing thru the rezoning of what is now Ballpark Commons thru the City of Franklin when Taylor was serving simultaneously as a Franklin Alderman and County Supervisor for Franklin. Taylor has played the role of Government Relations and Operations for ROC Ventures under the ROC Foundation, a separate 501c3. Taylor also takes public credit for Milwaukee County selling the County property for what is now Ballpark Commons to Mike Zimmerman.

As election results for Franklin Mayor were announced on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, County Supervisor Steve Taylor texted the following picture to former Mayor Steve Olson from the Nelson election party:

Pictured above County Supervisor Steve Taylor, Franklin Mayor John Nelson

 and Mike Zimmerman CEO ROC Ventures

The picture is intended to send the message that Zimmerman and Taylor are now in charge of Franklin, with Nelson.  FCN can also confirm that Mike Zimmerman was preciously involved with Land by Label and the Poth's Development on 76th and Rawson. but is no longer listed on the Land by Label webpage.

If the claims by Ms. Miller are correct and Nelson along with Hersh was using his position and office of the Mayor and Hersh's position and office as Director of Administration to help developers bypass local ordinances and state law, Nelson and Hersh might just very well have some additional allegations on their plate. 

Statement of Facts
 1. Mayor Nelson used public office to pass ordinances and selectively apply state statutes that favor certain developers.
 2. These actions were taken in exchange by Mayor Nelson for votes or political support, constituting quid pro quo corruption.
 3. Their is a clear conflict between the public interest and the private benefits being conferred on developers.

Statutory Basis:
  - Wisconsin Statute 946.12 addresses misconduct in public office.

  - The mayor knowingly acted outside the bounds of lawful authority by using public office to promote private interests.

  - The mayor intentionally exceeded his lawful authority by bypassing established procedures, ordinances, and state statutes.

  - The decision to benefit developers was influenced by the Mayors considerations of electoral gain, rather than public policy.   

       - There was a material breach of the public trust owed to all citizens by Mayor Nelson.

       - Favorable ordinances were passed disproportionately for developers who supported Mayor Nelsons campaign, distinguishing these actions from routine administrative decisions.

     - Even if the decisions had some public benefit, the manner in which they were made by Mayor Nelson undermines the integrity of public office, warranting remedial action and penalties.

If the allegations are true Nelson should be removed from office and should face criminal charges for bribery and misconduct in public office, a class I felony (946.12).

A class I felony, a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 3 years and 6 months, or both 939.50(3)(I).

Nelson Allegedly Uses City PR Staff for Personal Campaign Use

Franklin Community News (FCN) has confirmed that City of Franklin Contracted Public Relations flack, Mary Christine, has been out on social media as a Nelson surrogate supporting Nelson from social media attacks and spinning a pro Nelson bad Waterford narrative.  Christine has also attacked former Waterford Town President, Terri Jendusa-Nicolai on Waterford Facebook Pages as a surrogate for Nelson.  Waterford is where Nelson "resigned" from his position as Lieutenant amid an investigation by the Town of Waterford.

According to Christine's Linked In page she owns MCPR and Marketing and refers to herself as a "Marketing and Communications Architect".  Christine lists her client portfolio to include:

City of Franklin, Land of Natura, CH Coakley, Stella & Chewy's, Eric Weiss, MD, The Abbey Resort, EAA, Marshall Building, Vibrant Body Company, Lakefront Brewery, Royal Bank, Securant Bank & Trust, Ellenbecker Investments, Kerry, Olivia Travel, Contemporary Pull, A&W, Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun, Hotel Metro, Harley-Davidson and player representative for MLB, NFL and MISL

FCN has documented many of Christine's posts relating to Nelson and his time in Waterford on Franklin Pages as well as many posts by Christine aimed at targeting Teri Jendusa-Nicolai, in the cross fire of Christines Face Book posts.

According to a Journal Sentinel article by Eric Hanley published on April 28, 2025 Nelson "filed a lawsuit in February against Waterford and former Town Chair Teri Jendusa-Nicolai where he hopes to get an answer."

FCN posted on the Waterford Government Accountability page where Christine has been very active.  FCN posted the following on April 28, 2025 at about 3:15pm:

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Mary Christine hi Mary Christine. It has been confirmed that you are a PR person contracted by the Mayor John Nelson - Franklin, WI and the City of Franklin. Are you on the clock or off the clock. As a paid staff member for the City of Franklin is this not a conflict of interest to the City of Franklin tax payers that pay your salary . Also for someone who is a resident of Franklin, why is Waterford’s issue with their police department a concern to you. Don’t you have enough issues in Franklin to deal with including a fake open and transparent “Town Hall” hosted by Nelson in Franklin when it should be in Waterford as he is addressing Waterford issues?

Christine responded with the following almost immediately:

Mary Christine

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi hello - a few corrections. I am not a paid staff member of the city of Franklin, but I am a paid consultant with a contract that has me working approximately 13-15 hours a month. So as I respond to you, I am not "on the clock." As a pro-first responder American, I will respond anytime I see law enforcement or fire fighters not be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

FCN then responded with the following and has received no response:

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Mary Christine It certainly appears that there is a conflict of interest with your contracted position with the City of Franklin and responding on behalf of Nelson. You do understand what an ethical conflict of interest is? Nothing that an open records request into your contract and pay wont clear up. Appears to be an ethical violation.

FCN is submitting an open records request to obtain the contract between Mary Christine PR (MCPR) and the City of Franklin.  FCN will also be requesting all payroll records since Mary Christine was hired by the City of Franklin and how her hours worked were identified.  Additionally, FCN will be seeking any Common Council of Committee minutes approving hiring MCPR and were there any quotes or an RFP obtained.  Christine indicates she works 13-15 hour per month.  

If you look on the footer of any City of Franklin Web Page at https://www.franklinwi.gov/ you will see very plainly, Media Contact Mary Christine

Included in Franklins 2025 Budget:

Public Relations Services:  A focused communications initiative is proposed to continue into 2025 to elevate the City's visibility and highlight its ongoing growth and successes.  This strategy includes proactive information dissemination, strategic message development, and targeted media relations.The requested budget for 2025 is $25,000 structured as a monthly retainer of $2,083.  This allocation covers up to 20 hours of communication services per month, with developer-specific projects billed separately to the relevant project.

It appears that the City of Franklin taxpayers are paying $104.15 per hour to MCPR to be John Nelsons personal PR flack.

He is a sampling of just a few of the Facebook Posts Mary Christine as a "pro first responder American" which is code for, defending John Nelson on Facebook being paid for by the taxpayers of Franklin.

Mary Christine

She slandered TEN officers by making up false allegations about them in order to get the RCSD in place. The city currently has TWO lawsuits pending because of her actions. It is SO unfortunate that these officers have and ARE paying the price because of her schemes. The truth ALWAYS prevails, and I hope the community will stand by these officers while the truth is unraveled.

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Lori Peternell

Mary Christine how did she slander them with false accusations? It was an officer within the WPD that filed the complaint and the testimonies were from his peers. It was their words, not hers. And they all said pretty much the same thing.

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Mary Christine

Lori Peternell It's all about the timing and investigations. Two of the ten were on paid leave starting May 6 and did not have their interview until the end of August. Why did it take four months? Because they had to put together allegations. One of th… 

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Lori Peternell

Mary Christine the allegations were made to Teri in April. Did she arrange the scheduling of the interviews?

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Mary Christine

Lori Peternell she had not received the allegations until after the two officers were put on paid leave. The interviews were rescheduled twice - once because of an officer conflict. Normal protocol is to meet with the officers to review the allegations… 

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Joshua Kuehn

Mary Christine just a clarifying question if I may. Are you not the Public Relations Consultant hired by Franklin to help mitigate the issues with the Mayor and city at large? Just wondering?

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Michelle Bores-Stockton

Mary Christine Have you seen this Open Record of an WPD Officer initiating three complaints to the Town chair back in April? You might want to verify your dates.

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Mary Christine

Joshua Kuehn yes, I am a contract PR person for the City of Franklin, which does include media relations, but my involvement on this page is solely as a pro-law enforcement advocate.

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Kevin Fischer

Mary Christine Don't insult people's intelligence. You're a mouthpiece for Franklin's corrupt, lying mayor. That's why you're all over the place since last week defending Johnny no matter the damning material.

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Steve Olson

Mary Christine Were you truly a "pro-law enforcement advocate" you would be advocating that all the truth come out so that the good people of Waterford could have professional, qualified and ethical police protection.

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Mary Christine

Steve Olson we are definitely on the same page with that, Steve, especially with the unethical action used to place an officer on the Brady list a few weeks ago. The people of Waterford have spoken and the Town is under new leadership. I'm excited to … 

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Mary Christine

Kevin Fischer just a quick correction, Kevin. I've been all over this page for MONTHS (not a few days) sharing my thoughts on the mistreatment of the TWPD officers.

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Reply as Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Reply as Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Michelle Bores-Stockton

Teri posting during the middle of the night irritates you so much that you in turn complain about it during the middle of the night? Everyone has a different perspective of time. Some of us work all day, take care of families in all the fun commitmen… 

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Julie J Mayhew

Michelle Bores-Stockton make any excuses you want, Michelle. You know just as well as I do that Teri’s behavior on social media has been off the rails. She is inappropriate and behaves completely unhinged, like a tween girl broken up with for the first time.

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Janet Risch Dickinson

Julie J Mayhew have read all the released records. Do you know the cost of a new WPD vs Racine Co sheriff. Do you know how much it will cost to create policies and training manuals

$

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Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Mary Christine hi Mary Christine. It has been confirmed that you are a PR person contracted by the Mayor John Nelson - Franklin, WI and the City of Franklin. Are you on the clock or off the clock. As a paid staff member for the City of Franklin is t… 

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Mary Christine

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi hello Rich - a few corrections. I am not a paid staff member of the city of Franklin, but I am a paid consultant with a contract that has me working approximately 13-15 hours a month. So as I respond to you, I am not "on the clock." As a pro-first responder American, I will respond anytime I see law enforcement or fire fighters not be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

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Franklin Community News - FCnewswi

Mary Christine It certainly appears that there is a conflict of interest with your contracted position with the City of Franklin and responding on behalf of the Nelson. You do understand what an ethical conflict of interest is? Nothing that an open records request into your contract and pay wont clear up. Appears to be an ethical violation.

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• Commented on by Rich Busalacchi
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It appears that John Nelson just cant stop himself.  According to the April 28, 2025 Article published by Eric Hanley in the Milwaukee JournalSentinel, as a result of Nelsons Waterford investigation, the numerous allegations into Nelson include:

• Fostering a hostile work environment.
• Sexually harassing or making inappropriate comments toward female officers making them feel “verbally violated.”
• Sexual comments and ongoing flirting toward female civilians.
• Showing inappropriate images of females Nelson allegedly dated or had sexual relations with to other officers.
• Improper use of Town of Waterford resources while campaigning for mayor and conducting mayoral business for Franklin.
• Derogatory/unprofessional phone conduct while on duty in the presence of other personnel.
• Preferential treatment in scheduling officers.
• Retaliation against some officers.
• Failure to use the FTO program, a full-time officer program related to training.
• Oversight of an unauthorized private security service getting paid in cash.
• Dissemination of sensitive information containing an employee’s personnel file to other department members.

It now appears that Nelson has not learned his lesson and is potentially using City of Franklin tax payer resources for his personal gain, his election "campaign", and his "campaign" against the Town of Waterford.

Lets see if Ms. Mary Christine appears at the John Nelson "Town Hall" Campaign Event, on Wednesday and if she is on Franklin paid time or as a pro-first responder American.

John, it appears you have some additional trouble to deal with:

• Using Government Time and Resources: It is illegal for a mayor's staff member to perform campaign work, including social media activities, during their official work hours or using government-owned equipment, resources, or facilities (State v. Chvala). This could constitute a violation of Wisconsin Statute § 946.12(3), which prohibits public officers from using their position for private gain.
• Coordinated Activity: If the staff member's social media activity is closely coordinated with the mayor's campaign, it could be considered an illegal campaign contribution, especially if the staff member is being paid with public funds.
• Volunteering on Personal Time: A mayor's staff member can volunteer for a campaign on their own time, as long as they do not use government resources or their official position. (Christine indicated she is volunteering her time.  Seems unlikely since she is on a monthly retainer and therefore not an hourly employee tracking her "work schedule").
• Intent: The intent behind the staff member's actions is a key factor. If the intent is to promote the mayor's campaign(S) using government resources (Mary Christine), it is more likely to be considered illegal (Colorado Ethics Watch v. City and County of Broomfield).
• Transparency: It is important for staff members to be transparent about their involvement in the campaign and to avoid any appearance of impropriety. (Ms. Christine has been anything BUT Transparent, quite the opposite.)

Wisconsin §19.59 Codes of ethics for local government officials, employees and candidates.

a) No local public official may use his or her public position or office to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the private benefit of himself or herself or his or her immediate family, or for an organization with which he or she is associated. 

(c) Except as otherwise provided in par. (d), no local public official may:

2. Use his or her office or position in a way that produces or assists in the production of a substantial benefit, direct or indirect, for the official, one or more members of the official’s immediate family either separately or together, or an organization with which the official is associated.

John, when will you learn your lesson?  

For the Greater Good of Franklin, please move on.

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