Vanness opposes release of severance agreement Judge Mleziva recuses himself from case to review open records request By Kevin Boneske For The News-Chronicle Former Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department investigator and a 2002 candidate for sheriff, Tom Vanness of Kewaunee, has submitted a letter to the Clerk of Court's office stating his reasons for opposing an open records request seeking the release of his severance agreement. Vanness resigned from the sheriff's department in May, but later sought to rescind the resignation by claiming it was not voluntary and signed under duress. The county's Personnel Committee voted last month not to rescind Vanness's resignation. It will be up to a judge to decide whether or not to grant the open records request made by Tri-County Publishing, a division of Brown County Publishing, the owner of The News-Chronicle. The judge conducting that review won't be Kewaunee County Circuit Court Judge Dennis J. Mleziva, who has recused himself because it involves the county and Vanness. Mleziva has asked for a new judge to be assigned to those court proceedings. Vanness, who so far has not publicly specified what led to him resigning from the sheriff's department, where he worked since the 1980s, listed three reasons for asking for a court review of the request to see his severance agreement. Vanness said he was assured, once he signed, "the files would be closed." But he contends he wasn't informed until after he signed that someone could make a request to see the severance agreement. Vanness, who is now working as a security guard at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, said he believes the release of the severance agreement "may jeopardize my working status at my place of employment." Finally, Vanness said the severance agreement "contains personally identifiable information that will in the future lead to court proceedings, based on the fact that I have hired an attorney to sue Kewaunee County based on my unjust release from the Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department." While Personnel Committee members who voted not to rescind Vanness' "letter of resignation" indicated last month that they didn't believe it was signed under duress, they and other county officials have not specified publicly what led up to the resignation. Tri-County Publishing's open records request was made after the committee's vote not to rescind. Vanness' resignation came only a few months after he lost the November 2002 sheriff's race to John Cmeyla by 419 votes. After the election and prior to his resignation, Vanness did not receive a promotion to lieutenant for which he applied when Chris Gulbrand was picked for the position.