A North Dakota mayor resigned on Tuesday after an investigation into a lewd video he messaged to the city’s top attorney in January.
Minot Mayor Tom Ross texted City Attorney Stefanie Stalheim a video of him masturbating shortly after the two talked on the phone about a police officer’s suicide, according to a report issued by the Minot City Council. Ross called Stalheim within minutes of sending the video, asking her to delete it without watching it and telling her it was intended for a girlfriend.
The mayor stepped down from office the same day Minot legislators made the report into the incident public.
“As much as I love the City of Minot and where it is heading, for the last, just about 5 years, I have had my priorities misaligned,” Ross wrote in a resignation letter. “While I’ve done my very best to be a good leader, it’s clear that time has come to an end.”
Ross told investigators that he sent the “sexy video” intended for his girlfriend on Jan. 14 when he was home on his lunch break. According to the report, he attributed the snafu to his unfamiliarity with using an iPhone compared to his Samsung S22 phone.
He also said that his girlfriend’s name begins with “C” and Stalheim was saved in his as “City Attorney,” the report added.
Upon hearing the mayor’s description of the video content, Stalheim told investigators she “fell out of her chair.” The reaction, according to Stalheim, was also due to the “combined stress” of receiving news of the police officer’s death, the report added.
The city prosecutor asked another employee in the room to delete the video, who, in doing so, “caused it to play,” according to the report. As a result, the employee, a Human Resources representative, “viewed some or all of the video.”
“The investigator found somewhat credible Ross’s statements that the video was sent to Stalheim unintentionally and that the video was intended for Ross’s intimate partner,” the report added. “Due to Ross’s position as one of increased visibility, responsibility, and trust, and due to his decision to use a personal cell phone to conduct city business, that the fact he would use that device to record and send videos of this nature is in and of itself reckless enough that he knew the risk he was taking by engaging in such behavior.”
Ross was elected mayor in 2022 after serving on the city council since 2020, according to a city profile of the former officials. Minot, home to more than 47,000 people, is located about 50 miles south of the Canadian border.
The North Dakota city is known for a nearby Air Force base.
Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at [email protected], @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.