In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Paul Soglin said a state official who claimed charges brought against him were politically motivated owes city officials an apology.
Soglin said state Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, owes an apology to the mayor and city employees after Hulsey voiced concerns that political motives were the reason he was charged in a recent incident at a Lake Mendota swim area.
However, Soglin said he would never compromise his career to see Hulsey cited.
"There is nothing unusual about Mr. Hulsey - he neither merits nor deserves special treatment," he said in the statement.
Hulsey allegedly upset a nine year-old boy by flipping him off his inner tube and taking his picture at Spring Harbor Beach on July 4, according to a police report.
Hulsey told the Wisconsin State Journal Sept. 6 he had done nothing wrong.
Soglin also said a Madison lifeguard reported Hulsey to another staff member in 2008 because the lifeguard "was uncomfortable with Hulsey's presence at a city beach."
Hulsey was unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
