London residents pack special council meeting, impeachment hearing rescheduled

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — London residents packed the council chambers on Friday afternoon for a special-called meeting in preparation for an upcoming misconduct hearing.

The meeting comes after the council voted to bring 14 charges against the mayor in early August, including misuse of the city police department, violating proper procedure in dismissing members of the London Housing Authority, and harassing city employees.

Constituents filled the chairs and lined the walls, carrying signs that said things like “This is our city, not a soap opera.”

The noon meeting on August 15 had only two items on the agenda: a resolution setting a public hearing of the charges to September 5, and another directing the city clerk and other officials to submit their written statements and notice to the mayor of said hearing by August 22.

Both resolutions passed without being read aloud, which some residents contested. According to KRS 67A.070, a public reading of the title and certified synopsis suffices.

Mayor Randall Weddle was not in attendance.

FOX 56 interviewed TJ Roberts, an associate attorney with Chris Wiest Attorney at Law, PLLC, on the process of removal and what will occur at the September 5 hearing, which was initially scheduled for August 20.

“And a lot of it really just kind of comes down to statutory violations and abuse of office; there’s the allegation he doesn’t live in the city of London as well,” Roberts explained. “Evidence will be reviewed, witnesses will be questioned, and the city council will come up with a determination at that point.”

But Roberts said it would take a unanimous vote to remove Weddle from office.

“There’s no facts to back up anything that they’re stating, but we’re going to let the process play out,” Weddle previously told FOX 56. “We’re going to let the attorneys do what they do best and just see where that goes.”

He said the actions of certain council members are simply a case of what he calls petty politics.

“Why are you trying to create so much chaos in a time that our community is already hurting,” he asked.

If Weddle is removed, he does have the right to appeal the decision according to the law.

“If they think it’s going to end in their council chambers, it’s not,” said Mayor Weddle. “We’ll take it to the circuit court, the appellate court, the Kentucky Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court.”

His mayoral term is up in 2026.