ELMWOOD, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska secretary of state has scheduled a special election to fill vacancies on a village board that’s been riven by internal conflict and rendered powerless by resignations. Three of the five members resigned from the
ELMWOOD, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska secretary of state has scheduled a special election to fill vacancies on a village board that’s been riven by internal conflict and rendered powerless by resignations.
Three of the five members resigned from the Elmwood Village Board last week, leaving it without a quorum to conduct business. Secretary of State John Gale this week scheduled the election for Dec. 12. The Cass County village has about 630 residents.
Jack Hovick, one of the board members who quit, told the Lincoln Journal Star that his year on the board was filled with conflict and drama.
“The big thing was the park project,” he said, referring to an improvement project. After the board set a $128,000 budget, Hovick said, board chairwoman Pat Wray allocated an additional $28,500 without gaining approval from other board members.
Hovick and another former member, Brody Baer, also said Wray had gone through with adding rock to a village street after the board voted against doing so.
In his resignation letter, Baer said Wray had been rude and unethical.
“I can’t make it through a single meeting without some sort of fear (that) you are going to yell at me … or be upset,” Baer said.
Wray declined to comment about their allegations.
There will be two races in the special election: One will determine two board members with terms through December 2018. The other is for a board member to serve through December 2020.
If no one files in either race, the election will be determined by write-in votes.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
