London faces continued uncertainty as mayor reinstated, council plans to file appeal

LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Life in London is anything but small-town quiet.

On Monday, a judge put Mayor Randall Weddle back in office, overruling the London City Council, which had removed him earlier this month for alleged misconduct.

“The negative stuff needs to stop,” said Weddle. “Let’s put our personal feelings aside. I forgive him, so let’s move on at this point and do what we were elected to do.”

The court order found the council violated state law and failed to provide enough evidence to justify impeaching Weddle.

The impeachment came as Weddle faced 11 counts of misconduct, including failing to appoint a housing authority board for more than a year, making appointments without council approval, and misusing police resources.

“He was duly elected as the mayor, and then he was actually pushed out of office by what we saw as some trumped-up charges, some things that didn’t make sense,” said community member Johnny Miller.

FOX 56 News political analyst Jonathan Miller said now is the time for city leaders to choose a path forward.

“It is something that would be preferable to continuing battles, but on the other side, we could see this continue to play out in court through appeals and the like and continue to create more dysfunction in the community,” he said.

And that’s already happening. An attorney for the city council filed a notice to appeal the judge’s decision to reinstate Weddle as mayor.

Miller said the back-and-forth is taking a toll well beyond City Hall.

“I would imagine that, not just the impeachment, but the run-up to it, all the controversy that has led to a lot of really difficult discussions and stressful times within the community.”

Miller said that although not unprecedented, it is rare to have a mayor impeached.

“It really sets into a period of strong dysfunction, where one day you have a mayor and the next day you don’t, and the next day he’s back,” added Miller.

Despite the turmoil, Weddle said he’s focused on the future.

“Let’s move forward and do what we were elected to do and continue to make London the biggest and brightest city in southeast Kentucky,” Weddle said.