MARIONVILLE, Mo. -- Four members of the Board of Aldermen have resigned, citing problems with Mayor Bob Duda Jr., and other aspects of city government. Daniel Clevenger, Kay Leffingwell and Philip Harter submitted resignation letters on Tuesday morning, following Scott Brown, who resigned after a meeting last Thursday.
Harter's letter accused Duda of violating the public trust and oath of office, and said Harter "cannot continue to constantly witness those who would trample the public trust." Leffingwell, however, cited numerous reasons, calling council meetings "chaos," saying city codes aren't enforced, gossip and Facebook are sources for information, and much more.
"I am tired of the insults and ridicule directed at me and other aldermen during the council meetings," Leffingwell said in her letter.
Brown said it "seems that my efforts to serve the citizens are no longer helpful to this council," and Clevenger's resignation letter was terse, simply stating he was resigning.
Duda disagreed with the resignations, calling the situation "absolutely ridiculous."
"To quit is not the answer," Duda said. "They had the opportunity to make the change they requested, but they didn't."
Four vacant seats mean many city functions have come to a standstill. The city can't issue any checks as two of the three people authorized to sign checks resigned.
The mayor will hold a special meeting on Thursday to appoint replacements to fill the four empty seats. That meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
You can read the resignation letters in their entirety in our Related links to the upper left of this story.
Harter's letter accused Duda of violating the public trust and oath of office, and said Harter "cannot continue to constantly witness those who would trample the public trust." Leffingwell, however, cited numerous reasons, calling council meetings "chaos," saying city codes aren't enforced, gossip and Facebook are sources for information, and much more.
"I am tired of the insults and ridicule directed at me and other aldermen during the council meetings," Leffingwell said in her letter.
Brown said it "seems that my efforts to serve the citizens are no longer helpful to this council," and Clevenger's resignation letter was terse, simply stating he was resigning.
Duda disagreed with the resignations, calling the situation "absolutely ridiculous."
"To quit is not the answer," Duda said. "They had the opportunity to make the change they requested, but they didn't."
Four vacant seats mean many city functions have come to a standstill. The city can't issue any checks as two of the three people authorized to sign checks resigned.
The mayor will hold a special meeting on Thursday to appoint replacements to fill the four empty seats. That meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
You can read the resignation letters in their entirety in our Related links to the upper left of this story.
