Stephen Clay's last-minute maneuver sets up showdown over his Indianapolis council presidency

Stephen Clay on Friday reached a partial settlement in a lawsuit, sending reverberations far beyond the case at hand and setting up what is expected to be a wild showdown at Monday's City-County Council meeting, where he will seek to preserve his presidency.

The plaintiffs — several Democratic council members, one Republican and fired council clerk NaTrina DeBow — agreed to dismiss their motion asking a judge to reinstate DeBow and council attorney Fred Biesecker. In turn, Clay will let the city's Office of Corporation Counsel serve in the crucial role of parliamentarian during Monday's meeting.

Moments after Clay and his attorneys stepped away from the fifth-floor Downtown courtroom where his hearing was held, the council released an agenda that had a glaring omission: the long-expected vote to remove Clay as president. That exclusion — replaced with a proposal to send the issue to a council committee — signals Clay, who sets the agenda, is ignoring a Jan. 29 vote in which the majority of council members set his removal in motion.

Clay's settlement thrusts city attorneys into refereeing a six-week feud between Clay and the council's other 13 Democrats, who already have expelled him from their caucus and are seeking to force him out of leadership.

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Either Andy Mallon or another member of Office of Corporation Counsel will fill a role that was vacated when Clay fired Biesecker, who served on a contract basis as general counsel. Having a city attorney step in Monday will ensure the council meeting is "conducted fairly," said Karen Celestino-Horseman, the plaintiffs' attorney. Clay's lawyer, Linda Pence, said a city attorney could provide "real, objective legal advice" for the whole council.

Mallon in an email said his office is "getting up to speed quickly and will be prepared to help run a smooth meeting Monday."

Council members, though, are bracing for trubulance. Clay's decision to omit the vote for his removal from Monday's agenda put the council on edge, with no one sure what to expect.

"This should infuriate the public. A majority of the Council voted to add this measure to the agenda," Blake Johnson, a Democrat who represents an east-side district that includes Irvington, wrote on Twitter. "Clay is simply ignoring the rules and process, violating the public trust yet again."

Michael McQuillen, the council's Republican minority leader, said in a text message he is "in the process of trying to figure out what (the agenda) means for Monday."

Clay, thanks largely to McQuillen, rode Republican support to a surprising victory over fellow Democrat Maggie Lewis as council president last month. Clay offered Republicans more influence on the council, including the unprecedented award of committee leadership positions to the minority party.

A dispute between McQuillen and Biesecker at the Jan. 29 council meeting revealed the considerable influence wielded by the council parliamentarian, who guides councilors through procedures and votes.

In that meeting, as most Democrats sought to force a vote to remove Clay from leadership, McQuillen motioned to refer the issue to the ethics committee, which McQuillen chairs — one of the rewards Republicans received in exchange for supporting Clay. Biesecker blocked the request by ruling the council can remove its president without going through the ethics committee.

Clay later fired Biesecker, DeBow and an assistant clerk — a purge that raised speculation Clay would try again to send the issue of his removal to the ethics committee, where it would stall or at least be delayed.

It's unclear whether that was Clay's plan when he fired Biesecker, but the strategy surfaced again Friday. Clay directed council staff to include in Monday's agenda a proposal that would send the discussion about his presidency to the ethics committee.

The agenda came out moments after Pence, Clay's attorney, suggested Clay might avoid facing a vote over his leadership.

“I think you just need to go to the council meeting and we’ll see what happens," she said in response to reporters' questions.

Clay and Pence left the building just before the agenda was released.

In a court filing Thursday, Pence accused Biesecker of working on behalf of Clay's opponents to help oust him. The Office of Corporation Counsel would be a suitable replacement, she said.

"You just need a lawyer that’s going to be there that’s not working for one faction or the other," Pence said.

The firings of Biesecker and DeBow are at the heart of the lawsuit filed last week against Clay. The plaintiffs argued Clay used "unauthorized and autocratic actions" to illegally terminate them.

But Clay's attorneys filed a response pointing to emails sent from Biesecker's government account as evidence that council staff sought to undermine Clay after his election as president. In the emails, Biesecker disparaged Clay while lobbying to keep a six-figure job that he acknowledged he was likely to lose.

Responding to an email asking how Clay defeated former council president Maggie Lewis, Biesecker wrote two days after Clay's election "the child loving Reverend sold his soul to the Republicans." That is an apparent reference to a recent public accusation — which Clay has denied — that Clay groped a boy at his home more than a decade ago. Biesecker added Clay had help in his bid for the presidency from "4 other sexist Democrats."

Nine Republicans and five Democrats, including Clay, voted to elect Clay president.

In the court filing, Clay's attorneys said the plaintiffs have begun a "smear campaign to demean and belittle President Clay," and filed a "frivolous lawsuit attempting to divert attentions away from the public business."

Such escalation in dialogue found at least temporary respite inside the courtroom Friday, though, when both sides gathered for a hearing regarding the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order. The hearing was set to begin at 10 a.m., but was delayed for nearly two hours while attorneys hammered out a deal behind closed doors.

An anxious mix of city employees, clergy supporting Clay and local reporters waited for the hearing to begin. Although the parties found some agreement in court, the rhetoric is likely to reignite.

After the hearing, Celestino-Horseman said her clients' lawsuit likely would be dropped if another president were selected. But she also allowed for the possibility that would not happen.

“Our lawsuit still remains should we need to pursue it, but who knows what’s going to happen Monday night?” she said.

Pence, meanwhile, said everyone should "stay tuned."

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She also made it clear Clay's plans don't include getting back in line as a rank-and-file council member.

“All this president wants is to serve this community," Pence said. "He wants to be one of the best presidents who's ever served the council. He wants to work with everyone in a bipartisan matter to move the agenda.”

Clay offered a few words about his agenda — but not the one people would be talking about a few minutes later.

"I am excited to move the people's agenda forward," Clay said. "At the end of the day, we were all elected to serve our constituents and what's on the agenda for this city is far greater than for us to get sidetracked by personal preferences. It's time to govern. It's time to do the people's business."

Call IndyStar reporter Ryan Martin at (317) 444-6294. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @ryanmartin.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.