On Sept. 11, the state Commission on Ethics found Marathon Councilman Mark Senmartin not guilty of misusing his position by trademarking the City of Marathon seal or charges that he tried to sell the rights of the seal back to the City of Marathon.
“I’m glad to see the Ethics Commission agrees that there was no wrongdoing on my part. And I’m glad to put this false claim to rest and behind me,” Senmartin said.
The complaint was lodged in December 2019 by the City of Marathon’s Clerk, Diane Clavier. As part of the evidence for the ethics charge, Clavier submitted minutes of that meeting, which she is charged with compiling as part of her city job description. Senmartin said his unscripted remarks were taken out of context by Clavier in the ethics complaint and also exonerated by the minutes that she herself took of the meeting, and introduced into the record as part of the ethics violation.
The ethics charge was notarized locally on Nov. 20, 2019. On Nov. 25, 2019, video cameras captured Clavier and Councilman Dan Zieg taking an outdoor sign that read “Drop Dan Zieg” from outside Senmartin’s business. Senmartin pressed charges and Zieg and Clavier were charged with a second-degree misdemeanor of petit theft.
Councilman Dan Zieg filed a second ethics charge against Senmartin in May 2020, alleging that Senmartin personally benefited by a donation from the City of Marathon to the high school drama club, whose roster includes Senmartin’s teenage son. The Commission on Ethics has yet to rule on that charge.
