Newcastle’s city attorney resigns

Alexis Barker & Bob Bonnar
NLJ News Editor & NLJ Publisher 
 
Michael Stulken resigned as Newcastle’s city attorney via email, effective July 31, the same day that Alex Berger resigned as Weston County’s elected attorney, according to City Clerk-Treasurer Greg James.
“After much consideration and thought, and with great regret, due to a professional situation, it is with great remorse that I have to tender my resignation as City Attorney for the City of Newcastle,” Stulken announced in an email sent to James, Mayor Pam Gualtieri and members of the City Council. The email was sent on the morning of July 20, a day after Stulken delivered a report to the council at its regularly scheduled meeting on July 19.
Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock said that Stulken, who has also been serving as the deputy county attorney, is expected to take on more roles with the county until the commissioners select a replacement for Berger, who was elected in 2018. Stulken confirmed this in an email he sent to the News Letter Journal this week.
“Due to the increasing responsibilities that I have recently accepted with the Weston County Attorney’s Office, I truly did believe that I would not be able to dutifully represent the City as the City should be represented with these added responsibilities,” he wrote.
Stulken also indicated that he has put his name forward to replace Berger as the full-time county attorney.
“I have submitted my expression of interest for the now vacant position of Weston County Attorney for the Weston County Republican Party’s consideration,” he wrote on Monday.
As directed by Wyoming statute (as reported by the NLJ last week), the Weston County Republican Party Central Committee will select three candidates to fill the vacant county attorney’s seat and forward those names to the Board of Weston County Commissioners. The board will then have five days to choose one of the three candidates to finish Berger’s term, which will expire in 2023.
Weston County Republican Party Chairman Kari Drost reported last week that the party’s Central Committee will meet in the Pinnacle Bank meeting room at 10 a.m. on Aug. 14 to select the three candidates.
Stulken told the News Letter Journal that he plans to stay in Newcastle, and his firm intends to continue offering legal services in Weston County regardless of whether he is chosen to fill the county attorney vacancy.
As for the Newcastle city attorney’s position, James said that the City Council will need to contract with another attorney to serve as city attorney. He noted that city attorneys are not elected nor are they officially city employees.  The main requirement for the position is that the applicant be licensed to practice law in Wyoming.
There is no mention of Stulken’s resignation in the City Council minutes from the Aug. 2 meeting, but the council did hold an executive session regarding personnel during that meeting. 

Special Meeting
The Newcastle City Council held a special meeting, entirely in executive session, on Monday, Aug. 9, to discuss “contract matters,” but City Clerk-Treasurer Greg James reported that no action was taken as a result of that meeting. James said the session was not related to the city attorney vacancy. The News Letter Journal was notified of the meeting on Friday, Aug. 6, and passed the notification along to the public on social media.