The terrible tumble of Tim Scannell continues, and friends and critics alike can hope -- for his sake and for the sake of his constituents in and around Grand Marais -- that he finally leaves office and lands on any help he may need.
Two years ago the elected Cook County attorney was a hero after being shot and seriously wounded by a sexual predator of young girls he had just successfully prosecuted. The man opened fire inside the Cook County Courthouse. Scannell and others were credited with saving lives.
But less than a year ago, Scannell was ordered by a court to stay away from a teenage girl with whom he apparently had started a romantic relationship. The petition seeking the restraining order against Scannell, then 46, was signed by the girl's parents, his one-time friends.
Last week a grand jury indicted Scannell, and yesterday he was charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The alleged victim was older than 16, which is the age of consent in Minnesota, but because Scannell was more than four years older than her and in a position of authority, the incident is being treated as criminal, the News Tribune's Tom Olsen reported at duluthnews
tribune.com yesterday and in today's editions of the newspaper.
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Whether found guilty or innocent, Scannell's relationship with an impressionable, still-maturing minor nearly 30 years his younger is, at the very least, inappropriate. His decision to participate actively in such a relationship is not in line with behavior Cook County voters and constituents can expect and demand from an elected leader, someone supported and trusted by the community and someone who can expect to be held to a higher standard of conduct and a stricter level of scrutiny.
A growing number of Cook County constituents agrees. Every Friday, a small group gathers in front of the Cook County Courthouse to protest Scannell's decision to stay on the job. Several Facebook groups and websites actively call for his ouster. And more than enough signatures have been gathered to petition his removal from office.
"We need 640 signatures, and we have well over that," Jason Zimmer, one of several Cook County residents who have organized efforts calling for Scannell's departure, told the News Tribune for a story in Thursday's paper "It's a lot of citizens standing up and saying we don't want this kind of behavior in office and in this town."
Scannell can spare everyone what almost certainly would be an ugly recall. He can do what he probably should have done last year when, according to court documents, he told the girl's mother at her workplace his relationship with her daughter had become physical. He can still do the right thing -- for himself, for constituents who are stinging and for Cook County -- by stepping aside and seeking any help he may need.
