Wichita councilman caught up in cover-up plot resigns emporiagazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from emporiagazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wichita city council member James Clendenin submits resignation
Wichita City Council member James Clendenin has submitted his resignation, effective December 31st. He read a statement at the end of a council meeting Tuesday, saying that this would be his last meeting.
Clendenin has faced calls to resign over his role in a false attack ad that was aimed at Brandon Whipple during his successful campaign for the mayor’s office in 2019. Whipple has filed a lawsuit over the ad, and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office had started ouster proceedings against Clendenin.
Clendenin was in his second term as the District 3 council member. His statement is below:
City of Wichita/YouTube
Wichita City Council member James Clendenin has resigned, the latest politician to leave office after becoming entangled in an attack video from the 2019 mayoral campaign.
Clendenin, who represents District 3, made his announcement during Tuesday’s council meeting. He said he will resign Dec. 31. I recognize that I have become a distraction from the critically important work of this council and from this city that I love and have served for nearly a decade,” he read from a prepared statement. “I cannot in good conscience allow that to continue. There are too many important hills we need to climb together to get this city moving again after the pandemic. It would be selfish and unproductive for me to continue in my council position if other events in any way diverted attention from the important city work that must go on.
Wichita City Council member James Clendenin resigns kake.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kake.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WICHITA, Kan. A lawsuit filed by Wichita’s mayor against three GOP officials who were behind a smear campaign against the mayor will be allowed to move forward after a judge rejected a motion to dismiss it.
The lawsuit is related to an ad published on YouTube during the mayoral election last year that falsely suggested that Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple was accused of sexual harassment when he served in the Kansas Legislature.
In a recording from last year that was released this fall, Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell, Wichita City Council member James Clendenin and state Rep. Michael Capp can be heard plotting to frame Sedgwick County Republican Party Chairman Dalton Glasscock for the smear video.