An Odd Week
I spent a lot of time figuring out if I wanted to write about this, but ultimately decided it’s too important to ignore. I know these conversations are divisive, and I usually don’t want to escalate. But if a council member is going to try to intimidate me, a person who is a foot taller, twenty years younger, and familiar with Council policies and laws… Then how are they going to treat other residents?
What happened at this week’s city council meeting isn’t just about me. It’s about how we, as a community, engage with our leaders and how they engage with us. This isn’t a story about one moment or one comment. It’s about a pattern of behavior that discourages residents from speaking up and getting involved. And that’s a problem we can’t afford to ignore.
Intimidation Before the Meeting
Petition Reaction
After presenting the Airbnb petition at last week’s work session, we found out that Council Member Bittner was using the addresses on the list to go to people’s homes to argue about it and present his own pro-Airbnb petition. So I wrote a semi-friendly reminder how that may violate their Code of Conduct and other Council actions lately are getting close to violating Wisconsin Open Meetings Law.
You can read more about what happened at Public Comment during the meeting, and watch the video (link at the bottom of the page), on the Nov 4 Meeting Recap. Short version is that Jeff Dahlke and I confronted him and then he admitted to it and tried to defend himself.
The Confrontation
After I walked in the room, about fifteen minutes before the meeting started, the moment I sat down Mr. Bittner came up to me privately and quietly said the following:
Mr. Bittner:“I’m pretty angry, but I just want you to know that I’ve talked to my lawyer and if you want to come after me tonight I’m ready for you.”
Me: “I’m not scared of you, Mark.”
Mr. Bittner:“No, I just wanted to tell you I’m ready for you, so go ahead and come after me.”
At that point, I pointed to his Council chair and raised my voice.
Me:“Go sit down. I’m not interested in your nonsense.”
Mr. Bittner:“Okay, Sport.”
You’ll notice what he didn’t do. He didn’t approach me with respect, shake my hand, and ask if we could have a word. Instead, he chose to quietly confront me with an aggressive tone and then capped it off by calling me “Sport.” That word wasn’t accidental… It was meant to talk down to me. He may as well have called me “kid.” I’m an adult with a family and a professional with a decades-long career in leadership. If he can’t even hide his disdain for me, an Army veteran and someone who spends hours of time in city meetings every week, how can we trust that he respects any member of our community?
Why it’s a Problem
What happened before the meeting wasn’t just an offhand comment… It was calculated. If Mark Bittner truly wanted to clear the air, he could have reached out respectfully, as any professional or leader should. He knows where I live and has my phone number and email. But instead, he waited until the council meeting, just moments before I was set to speak, to deliver what felt more like a warning than a conversation.
This matters because it’s not an isolated incident… It’s part of a pattern.
- Show the council what neighboring communities are doing about short-term rentals?
- They ignore it.
- If you sign a petition to show that you care about the issue?
- A council member shows up at your house to argue and creates their own pro-STR petition to counter yours.
- And if you dare call them out?
- They try to intimidate you into silence.
This kind of behavior hurts Two Rivers. When leaders act like this, it discourages people from speaking up. When residents worry about confrontation or being dismissed, they stop participating. That’s the real danger, not just for this issue, but for how our city government works as a whole. Two Rivers deserves leaders who care about what residents want, not leaders who try to shut residents up.
We deserve better and it’s time we all demand it.
