Steve Giorgi, a fixture in the Mountain Iron civic network, was removed by the city council Tuesday as the head of two committees following public disagreements with two staff members.
Councilors Alan Stanaway and Julie Buria made the motion to expel Giorgi as chair of both the planning and zoning committee (PZC) and economic development authority (EDA). Mayor Peggy Anderson, who appointed him two years ago, delivered the deciding 3-2 vote.
Their issues stemmed from previous council and committee meetings where Giorgi questioned the performance of City Administrator Craig Wainio and City Attorney Bryan Lindsay on following through with objectives from the boards.
The councilors alleged that Giorgi engaged in “terrible behavior” and was “slanderous” toward staff members and the council.
“I sit through half a meeting and Mr. Giorgi does nothing but complain about Bryan Lindsay and the lack of follow up on things he’s expecting from them, plus the lack of participation from the city administrator,” Stanaway said. “Half the meeting and there’s nothing but complaints.”
When audience members on both committees stood in support of Giorgi, noting the meetings he chairs are not conducted in that manner, Buria rhetorically asked “So we’re going to ignore the conduct that goes on here?”
Decorum questions have not evaded the Mountain Iron City Council in the past.
Buria found herself under scrutiny in 2021 after comparing Minnesota’s COVID-19 response to the Holocaust during a city council meeting, then publicly retracting her apology at the next one.
At the council’s Aug. 17 meeting, Stanaway shouted over Councilor Ed Roskoski during an exchange about whether the latter official was recognized by the mayor to speak.
Terse exchanges has been commonplace from Roskoski over several years on the council, a point he made Tuesday supporting Giorgi.
“Oh, and I’ve never been gone after here?” he asked. “Uh huh. Uh huh.”
He was among the two councilors on Tuesday who appeared surprised by Giorgi’s removal being on the agenda. Along with Councilor Brad Gustafson, they both asked the council who added the item to the meeting and were met with silence. Gustafson said he emailed Wainio about it and was given no response.
Giorgi told the council his frustration with Wainio and Lindsay was due to inaction on issues the PZC and EDA boards tasked them with, and took to the city councilors for more action.
He said the lack of follow through was “not acceptable” for individuals paid by the city, and questioned why the committees were in place if the council disregarded their work.
“If there are issues that need to be addressed, we are going to bring them back to the city council,” Giorgi said. “There’s nothing wrong with holding you, as elected officials, accountable and that is what we’re going to do.”
Among the specific issues brought up by Giorgi and audience members on the committees was a downtown building in violation of city code for more than three years without action by the city.
Giorgi said he met with Lindsay personally, along with Gustafson, about enforcing building codes and brought an accelerated fine schedule to the city last month as discussed by the committee. The attorney, he said, did not provide communication sent to the building owner.
“We have an illegal operation in downtown Mountain Iron, and what’s the city doing about it?” he said. “Nothing.”
Giorgi has a long history of civic engagement with Mountain Iron and the Iron Range. A 1973 graduate from the city’s school, he worked for a stint at Minntac before joining the Mountain Iron School Board and planning committee.
In 2015, he was named the executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS), where he was largely credited for turning the organization around and becoming a voice of authority for the Range at the state Legislature on issues impacting the region. He retired from RAMS in 2021.
Stanaway and Roskoski, the two longest-serving council members, both cited Giorgi’s ties and decades of experience in Mountain Iron.
“The last few years or so, you’ve surprised me,” Stanaway said Tuesday “You’ve changed. You’ve become defensive.”
Roskoski said Giorgi’s background and record were assets to Mountain Iron.
“He’s got it. He should should be involved in Mountain Iron city government as along as we he wants to be,” the councilor said. “We need what’s in his head, and what’s in his heart, too.”
Accessing the Mountain Iron City Council
Mountain Iron City Council meeting recordings are generally published on Mesabi Community Television’s website in the following days. Currently, the city’s revamped website does not have meeting agendas or minutes accessible.
