Local News in Brief : Mayor’s Request Is Denied

Mayor Sarann Kruse’s request that the City of Lawndale provide her legal defense against a $4.5-million libel suit was rejected by three council members, it was disclosed after a closed-door session last week.

Kruse was out of town and unavailable for comment on the decision, which was made in her absence by Councilmen Harold E. Hofmann, Larry Rudolph and Dan McKenzie, political allies who frequently are at odds with her on issues.

Kruse’s attorney, Robert L. Kress, asked the city to provide her defense because he said portions of the suit refer specifically to actions she took in the performance of her duties as mayor.

In the suit, attorney-developer Jonathan Stein claims he was libeled in a pre-election mailing by Kruse, her husband Robert, and about 25 residents listed as members of a group called Friends for Honest Government. The mailing said Stein wrote a letter that, in effect, invited Hofmann, Rudolph and McKenzie to violate the state’s open-meeting law. Stein said he had no intention of asking the councilmen to violate the law and that his reputation has been damaged by that allegation.