The executive board for the Oak Harbor Police Department Association presented the mayor with a letter Tuesday asking him to remove Capt. Teri Gardner from her post.

“The Association is lacking faith within the leadership and confidence of Captain Gardner to make fair, impartial and honest decisions, real or perceived, concerning the line officers and the department,” the letter states.

Mayor Scott Dudley said he and the city administrator met with the union’s executive board Tuesday and listened to their concerns.

But, he said, his confidence in Gardner has not been shaken. He said he still fully supports her and Chief Ed Green and doesn’t plan to make any changes.

The members of the union passed a no-confidence vote against Capt. Teri Gardner earlier this month.

Minutes from the meeting show that 16 members voted in favor of the no-confidence vote against of Gardner, 10 voted against it and two abstained.

A no-confidence vote was also taken in regard to Chief Ed Green. It failed to pass with 14 people voting against it, 11 voting for it and three abstentions.

The members met again this week after allegations arose about irregularities in the way the vote was taken, but no change was made in the no-confidence vote, according to officers who were there.

The president of the police association’s board said this week that the board has decided not to comment to the press at this point. Green did not return a call for comment.

The no-confidence vote came after it became public that Green had issued Gardner a written warning and extended her probationary period as captain last October for “poor judgment and lack of leadership.”

Her probationary period ends April 28.

The warning letter was in regard to Gardner’s answers to questions from him and the human-resources director about her romantic relationship with Sgt. Carl Seim, who is her subordinate. They have since been married. The letter outlines what appears to be evolving admissions on Gardner’s part.

Gardner’s attorney, Joan Mell of Fircrest, is defending her client vigorously. She argues that Gardner was not dishonest — since she and Seim weren’t involved at the time of the questions — and that Gardner had no duty to divulge details of her personal life if there was no current conflict.

“HR cannot legally invade the privacy of law enforcement officers by demanding full disclosure of their personal or intimate contacts with one another,” she said.

In an email to Dudley, Seim attacks the way in which the police association’s no-confidence vote was handled; he took part in the meeting. He claimed that the issue was deliberately vague in the meeting agenda so that those who were supportive of Gardner and Green wouldn’t show up. He said specific officers were told about the no-confidence vote ahead of time.

“It was obvious that this meeting was a deliberate coup to disgrace the current administration,” he wrote.

Nevertheless, the entire membership was aware of the purpose of the association meeting this week and the members elected to let the no-confidence vote and the letter to the mayor stand.

The letter to Dudley isn’t specific about what the concerns are about Gardner. It states that the association believes she made poor management decisions, displayed a lack of leadership and violated both department and city policy.

In a written statement, Gardner writes that the association never came to her with concerns about her being “unfair” and also notes that the letter doesn’t identify any decisions that she made that could be construed as unfair.

“I understand the focus is on me right now, but I am confident that will pass,” she wrote. “My personal life is just not that interesting. I plan to continue to make decisions that are just. I expect the Chief and the Mayor will hold me accountable as they have done to date without apology.

“I feel supported at home, in the department, in the community and by the leadership of Oak Harbor.

Dudley said he believes the association’s actions are really a result of a political divide that’s been in place since before he was mayor. He pointed out that the department was split when he ran for mayor against former mayor Jim Slowik, whose son Tony Slowik is on the force.

Gardner, Seim and others on the detective side of the department campaigned openly for Dudley.