Mayor resigns after texting sexually explicit video to city attorney

The politician of 1 of North Dakota's largest cities resigned aft an probe into him mistakenly sending a lewd video to the metropolis attorney.

Minot Mayor Tom Ross resigned Tuesday, the aforesaid time an investigative study was made nationalist that recovered Ross sent a video of himself masturbating to City Attorney Stefanie Stalheim successful January. He sent the video minutes aft the 2 had a telephone telephone discussing a constabulary officer's suicide.

Ross asked Stalheim to delete the video, not to ticker it and to support the incidental betwixt them, the study said. Ross told an interviewer helium had recorded the video astatine location during a luncheon interruption and meant to nonstop it to his romanticist partner, not to Stalheim. He had said it was "a sexy video for his girlfriend."

The study said Ross intended to nonstop the video to his romanticist partner, whose sanction begins with "C" but mistakenly sent it to the interaction "City Attorney," according to KMOT.

The study said Stalheim struggled with whether to marque a ceremonial report. Ross was her nonstop supervisor, and Stalheim's yearly reappraisal was pending astatine the time, the study said. Her ailment asked for an apology from Ross and that helium see resigning arsenic mayor.

The researcher recovered Ross's behaviour "directly caused Stalheim's inability to enactment successful an situation escaped from unreasonable intersexual harassment and created an violative enactment environment."

Ross said Wednesday helium takes afloat work and holds Stalheim "in the utmost respect and respect." He said helium had not resigned earlier "to respect the process." He plans to absorption connected himself, healing and moving guardant with his family, helium said.

Ross submitted his resignation missive conscionable aft 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, aft the investigative study became public, CBS affiliate KXNET reported.

Minot Mayor Tom Ross resigns https://t.co/t5XP7dFZLx

— KX News (@KXMB) April 1, 2025

"I person tried to beryllium excessively overmuch to excessively galore people. I failed," Ross wrote in his letter. "I person had a nonrecreational and respectful narration with each City of Minot unit subordinate that I person travel across. I americium arrogant of that. Unfortunately, I person fto them down arsenic a leader, arsenic I person with galore successful our community."

Telephone and email messages seeking remark were near for Stalheim Tuesday. She was named the caller metropolis attorney successful 2002 aft serving arsenic adjunct metropolis lawyer for 7 years.

The Minot City Council voted connected Tuesday to name a politician from wrong the assembly aft 15 days, which is the timeframe for citizens to petition for a peculiar election.

Ross was elected politician successful 2022 aft serving 2 years connected the metropolis council. Minot, astir 50 miles southbound of the Canadian border, is location to much than 47,000 people.

In:
• North Dakota