The City of New Cordell will soon be seeking a new person to occupy the Ward Three city council seat. The seat was vacated Dec. 19, 2019, with the resignation of Kelly Maddox-Tilley following an investigative report in The Cordell Beacon highlighting a false statement made on her application for a commercial marijuana license. Documents obtained through a public records request show that Maddox-Tilley falsely attested to not being a municipal officer at the time she submitted her application.
In her letter, dated Dec. 18, 2019, and stamped received at city hall Dec. 19, 2019, Maddox-Tilley referenced an Oklahoma law precluding municipal officers from obtaining commercial marijuana licenses in the municipalities they represent.
“As some of you may know, a new law has been passed concerning municipal officials and Commercial Marijuana Licensing,” she wrote. “I can not legally uphold my elected ward 3 council position and hold a Commercial Marijuana License. Therefore I regretfully resign as your ward 3 city council member. If in the future the laws are changed I would like to be reconsidered for reappointment to ward 3 city council seat.” (Letter reprinted without edits.)
Questions about Maddox-Tilley’s status on the council had been circulating since November, when she’d told The Cordell Beacon she’d resigned and then missed a council meeting. Those questions appeared to be answered when she took her seat at the Dec. 2, 2019, meeting of the city council, but quickly resurfaced in the wake of The Beacon’s Dec. 11, 2019, report.
Cordell Mayor Jerry Beech told The Beacon on Wednesday, Dec. 18, that Maddox-Tilley had advised him of her intent to resign, but that no official letter of resignation had been received by any city officials or employees. City administrator J.C. Moser went to Maddox-Tilley’s place of business the same day and verbally confirmed her intent to resign. Moser also said he advised Maddox-Tilley to include a statement in her written resignation to leave the door open for future appointment to the council should the laws change.
The city council is required by the Oklahoma Municipal Code to appoint a replacement for Maddox-Tilley by Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. If they fail to appoint a replacement, they must call for a special election to fill the vacancy, according to Oklahoma Municipal Code, Title 11, §118109.
“When a vacancy occurs in an office of an elected municipal official except the mayor, the governing body shall appoint, by a majority vote of the remaining members, a person to fill the vacancy until the next general municipal election, or the next biennial town meeting if the municipality is subject to the Oklahoma Town Meeting Act, Section 16301 et seq. of this title, and to serve until a successor is elected and qualified. Any vacancy shall then be filled at the next general municipal election or biennial town meeting by election of a person to complete the balance of any unexpired term. If the vacancy has not been filled within sixty (60) days after it occurs, the governing body shall call for a special election or a special town meeting for the purpose of filling the vacancy for the duration of the unexpired term unless said vacancy occurs or said election would occur within one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the first day of the filing period for the next general municipal election or within one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the next biennial town meeting. If a vacancy is not filled by the special election or at a special town meeting, it shall be filled by appointment as provided for in this section.”
Moser said Maddox-Tilley’s resignation would be placed on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting of the city council, which is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. At that time, he said, if the council accepts the resignation the 60 day clock would begin. Oklahoma Municipal Code, however, does not require council acceptance of a resignation in order to trigger the countdown, according to Title 11, §118112.
“A municipal officer may resign by submitted his written resignation to the governing body of the municipality, to the remaining members of the municipal governing body if some positions are vacant, to the interim mayor or, if all positions will become vacant upon the resignation, to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the municipality is located. Delivery of the written resignation to the governing body during a public meeting of such body or to the municipal clerk by mail or personal delivery during regular office hours shall constitute submission of the resignation to the municipal governing body. Delivery of the written resignation to the board of county commissioners during a public meeting of the commissioners or to the county clerk by mail or hand delivery during regular office hours shall constitute a submission of the resignation to the board of county commissioners. A resignation submitted by a municipal officer may be withdrawn in writing at any time prior to the effective date stated in the resignation. If no effective date is listed, the resignation shall be effective immediately. Acceptance by the governing body shall not be required for the resignation to be effective.”
In order to qualify to be appointed to the vacant seat, a person must reside in Cordell’s Ward Three, and must have been registered to vote in the ward for at least the previous six months. Ward Three is primarily the southeast quadrant of the city. A detailed map is on display in city hall.