This was a classic "Arrogant Vaught" move.
At the last city council session Mike Kemmling (Ward II) suggested that the council not appoint a replacement for Dawn Kuhn, but to let it go to a special election. This is an option under certain circumstances.
Jeff Vaught (Ward III) said the voters could always confirm or refute the council's appointment when the seat comes up at the next election cycle and if the appointee runs for a full term. To back this up he cited two cases: the first one he mentioned was when Kevin Tubbesing was appointed but then lost in the election to Michelle Distler for a full term. The next one he mentioned was when Jim Neighbor was appointed and then won the election for a full term.
This would make some folks think that it has been 50/50. What he failed to mention was the most recent appointment of Alan Willoughby (the mayor's uncle by marriage), who, when he ran for election was defeated by Mike Kemmling. That means that out of the last 3 council appointments, 2 of them (67%) were "overturned" by the people when they came up for election for a full term.
Of course Vaught did not want to bring that one up since that was the appointment that caused the JoCo DA to investigate the mayor and certain councilmembers for a KOMA (Kansas Open Meetings Act) violation.
When Vaught makes statements with incomplete info it sounds like he is practicing for a run for mayor.
Just thinking, does the city manager's concern about bad or misinformation pertain to folks like Vaught (or even herself)?
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