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MINOT — An internal investigation has concluded that Minot Mayor Tom Ross sent a pornographic text message to City Attorney Stefanie Stalheim. Ross resigned Tuesday afternoon, April 1.
Ross had been under investigation for the incident since Jan. 28. I was the first to report the investigation’s existence on March 17.
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According to the report, which was prepared by attorney Christina Sambor, on Jan. 14 at 12:27 p.m., while dealing with news that a Minot Police Department officer had died by suicide on city property, Stalheim received a text message from Ross.
Stalheim had been speaking to Ross minutes before, while the mayor informed her of the officer’s suicide. Per the report, before Stalheim could read the text, she received a phone call from Ross asking that she not view it and delete it.
Ross told Stalheim “that he had made a sexy video for his girlfriend” and “asked Stalheim not to view the video, and requested that the incident stay between the two of them,” the report states.
“When interviewed, Ross confirmed that it was in fact him in the video, and that he had recorded the video at his home during his lunch break, just prior to sending it to Stalheim,” the report continues. “Ross indicated that the video was recorded with the intent to send it to his romantic partner and that the video was sent to Stalheim on accident.”
The report indicates Stalheim delayed her decision on whether to report the incident until after the funeral for the deceased officer. Stalheim ultimately contacted city human resources personnel on Jan. 19 and submitted a formal complaint on Jan. 28.
“Ross stated he wished the incident could have been handled internally, without a public investigation,” the report said, also indicating Ross did not report the incident to city personnel himself.
He also argued that the City of Minot should provide cellphones to officials to avoid this sort of mix-up in the future.
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“When a question was posed to Ross as to his responsibility for deciding to undertake the risk of sending such videos on a device he also used for City purposes, he acknowledged culpability for such behavior and responded that the Mayor and City officials should have City-issued cell phones going forward and should only communicate via email and phone call,” the report states.
Per the report, Stalheim requested an apology from Ross and called on him to resign. The report concludes that Ross’ “conduct meets the definitions of unlawful harassment, workplace harassment, sexual harassment, and unacceptable conduct” as defined by city policy.
“The report is the report. I’m not going to have this report define the hard work and dedication I’ve given to the city of Minot over just about the last five years,” a tearful Ross told me when I reached him for comment. “I accept responsibility for what I’ve done, but I did not knowingly, intentionally do that. Once I did realize that it had happened, I took immediate steps to correct it.”
“There are things that the city needs to implement for elected officials for how they communicate with city staff,” he continued, echoing his remarks documented in the report. “I have the utmost respect for Stefanie Stalheim. I have no ill will toward her. She is an incredible professional. She had done some incredible work for the city of Minot and will continue to do incredible work. This incident has taken a toll on me mentally and physically. I’m sure it’s taken a toll on Stefanie.”
He indicated that after the complaint was filed, he spent less time at City Hall and in the mayor’s office. He also said he resigned Tuesday.
“Minot needs great leadership for the future,” he said. “That leader is not going to be me.”
The Minot City Council has a public meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday. The agenda indicates that the council will receive this report about Ross and consider next steps.
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Ross was first elected mayor in June 2022.
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