Shawano County Supervisor Lowell Hammett was found guilty of violating the county ethics code, but one of his supporters warned the elected officials they could be next.
According to a Nov. 28, 2025 story in the Shawano Leader:
“We are using government resources to settle a personal score,” said Bowler resident Tim Steffen during the county board’s Nov. 19 meeting. “There was no ordinance or rule or anything cited that would support this complaint. I hope all the supervisors take this into account. Today is Lowell’s day; you may be next.”
Following a Nov. 4 hearing, the ethics committee voted Nov. 11 on the three accusations against Hammett by former administrative coordinator Jim Davel and former County Clerk Kara Skarlupka.
By unanimous vote of the other four members of the committee (Hammett is a committee member but did not take part in the discussion), Hammett was determined to have violated Wisconsin ethics laws and the the county’s ethics code ordinance.
The committee recommended:
• Hammett apologize to those he falsely accused.
• The county board chairman remove Hammett from the ethics committee.
• Supervisors remove Hammett from the county board.
“No discussion is requested or recommended at this time, and no action is to be taken,” said Larenda Maulson, corporation counsel. “In addition, please do not harass, intimidate or attempt to discuss this decision with the current ethics committee members.”
In addition to Hammett, the committee includes Sup. Kimberly Leffel and residents Chris Holewinski, Mike Stupecky and Jim O’Neill.
Maulson said all questions should be directed to her.
County Board Chairman Tom Kautza said the potential removal of Hammett from the committee and board will be discussed at the board’s Dec. 17 meeting.
Hammett was accused of:
- Promoting his business on a business card that also noted his position as a county supervisor, thereby suggesting a connection between the two even though there was no financial gain from doing so.
- Attempting to use his position to circumvent county board rules in trying to set up a special board meeting when he knew he had no authority to do so or to even attempt to solicit votes from other supervisors to establish such a meeting. Emails to supervisors asking them to vote in a certain manner could have resulted in a violation of the state’s open meetings law, had the matter come up for a vote.
- Demonstrating disloyalty to the board and county employees by sharing confidential personnel information with supervisors, the media and the public. He further questioned an alleged missing $1 million from the county treasury, causing unnecessary discord and disrespect among elected and appointed officials.
Steffen pointed out, as noted in the minutes of the Nov. 4 ethics committee, Davel could not prove financial gain or even which part of the code Hammett violated with his business cards. Skarlupka said her issue was more an abuse of power, not an ethics violation. Julie Hasser, human resources manager, said that because the personnel packets were not shared with her office, there was no breach of confidentiality from an HR perspective.
