By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Union Mayor Larry Solomon, granted authority through a decision by Circuit Judge Richard Brueggmann, picked three men to serve as commissioners for the city Monday night at the regular city commission meeting.
He chose Doug Bine, John Mefford, and George Eldridge to serve as commissioners.
On November 5, 2024, winners in the election were John Mefford, Brian Garner, and Eric Dulaney, but Mayor Solomon only chose Mefford out of that group.
Eric Dulaney had run against Mayor Solomon for mayor.
Doug Bine, an incumbent commissioner, filed suit a few days after the election, citing several discrepancies in the Union election, and Boone County Circuit Judge Brueggemann ruled last Friday that all three elected commissioners were officially un-elected, and the results had to be thrown out.
He also ruled that Mayor Solomon had the official power to pick three new commissioners, and that is exactly what he did Monday night.
On election day 2024, the city of Union ran out of ballots, and Boone County Clerk, Justin Crigler’s office sent 800 ballots to them. As it turned out, only 414 city ballots were requested, but all 800 ballots were voted. This brought up the possibility that people who didn’t live in the city of Union voted for the city commissioners.
That was one discrepancy.
When it was discovered that there was a problem with the ballots, Crigler’s office ordered the voting machines replaced with new machines, a process that took approximately an hour, between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. During that time, if anyone wanted to vote in Union, they couldn’t, and those ‘possible’ people were thus disenfranchised.
That was another discrepancy.
There was a possibility of up to 800 fraudulent votes, and no way to sort anything out with certainty.
Judge Brueggemann ruled that it was a case of “constructive fraud,” and he defined it as something that “arises through some breach of legal duty, which, irrespective of moral guilt, the law would prounounce fraudulent because of its tendency to deceive others, to violate confidence, or to injure public interests.”
The solution was to throw out the election results for the commissioners, and then, according to KRS 83A.040(5), commissioners would have to be reappointed, and that power would belong to the remaining member of the department, the mayor/commissioner Larry Solomon.
“This statute provides the mayor with the authority to fill the respective seats vacated, pending the next succeeding annual election, in accordance with Section 152 of the Kentucky constitution” was the exact statement of judgment.
Bine, Mefford and Eldridge were sworn in before the meeting started.