Staff report
After Boone County Circuit Judge Richard Brueggemann threw out the results of the November election of Union city commissioners in the wake of election irregularities, Union Mayor Larry Solomon was empowered to appoint three new commissioners.
He did that Monday night. And, in doing so, created another controversy by naming three men — one of whom was not on the ballot in November.
“I made the best decision for the good of the city,” Solomon said, adding that he wanted to restore harmony, which hasn’t been apparent at the meetings for a while.
Solomon appointed John Mefford, who was on the ballot and was among those who prevailed in the thrown-out election, and then the two of them, Solomon said, chose Doug Bine (who brought a legal suit that resulted in the election being thrown-out), and those three commissioners named George Eldridge (who was not on the November ballot).
At the November 5 election, the top vote getters for commissioner were incumbent John Mefford, Eric Dulaney, and Brian Garner, along with incumbent Jeremy Ramage, who decided to give up his commissioner seat after the election due to work time restraints.
Doug Bine, also an incumbent, lost by 65 votes, but filed suit a few days after the election.
But a mistake in sending ballots to the Union voting precinct meant that non-residents of Union voted for the commission candidates. When the mistake was discovered the County Clerk’s office shut down voting for a critical period of time and corrected the ballots, but a law suit ultimately lead the Circuit Judge to void the election results.
Brian Garner was upset enough at the Mayor’s choices Monday night that he stood up and told the mayor that he lives in the city and he didn’t like Solomon playing politics, and choosing his friends for the commissioner seats.
Solomon countered he picked people that would add harmony and professionalism to the city and cut down on the conflict.
The choice did not have to include just the candidates in last November’s election.
Solomon chose Mefford because of his past experience serving as a commissioner.
George Eldridge is an Air Force veteran who has lived in Union for more than six years. He has worked in aerospace at Boeing for 32 years and has served on the union Board of Adjustments. He is married with two children and three granddaughters.
The commission still isn’t fully populated. Due to Ramage’s surrender of his seat, the fourth commissioner will be chosen by the remaining commissioners through an interview process later this month.
The on-going controversy caught the attention of state Rep. Marianne Proctor of Union who issued the following statement on Thursday:
“As a strong advocate for election integrity, I share the concerns of many of my constituents regarding the mayor’s appointment of three new city commissioners. Mistakes at the polling center allowed both residents of incorporated and unincorporated areas to vote for city commission in the 2024 General Election.
“When Boone County Clerk Justin Crigler was notified that poll workers accidentally handed out the wrong ballots, he followed the law (KRS 120.017) and the guidance of the State Board of Elections and let the courts know of the issue. Judge Richard Brueggemann correctly followed statute (KRS 83A.040) and called for the election to be voided. Voiding the election was a measure of last resort, emphasizing the critical importance of meticulous planning and stringent adherence to established procedures to ensure that every valid vote is accurately counted and the voters will be faithfully represented.
“While I respect the court’s decision to follow the legal remedy outlined in statute, which allows appointment rather than a new election, I believe that this may not be the best way to serve the will of the voters. Moving forward, I am committed to working with my colleagues to address this statute that gives the mayor the power to appoint with no oversight.”