Columbia councilwoman resigns from first ward seat

Columbia first ward city councilwoman Ginny Chadwick has resigned from her seat.

The councilwoman announced her resignation publicly at Monday night’s Columbia City Council meeting, citing her schooling. Chadwick is a graduate student studying public health at the University of Missouri, and said she may pursue her doctorate outside of Columbia.

“I didn’t see it wise to use city resources to run a recall election in April knowing that I would be stepping off, potentially, in August,” Chadwick said at the meeting, sometimes wiping tears from her face during her explanation.

The council’s agenda featured a report from City Clerk Sheela Amin about a valid petition to hold a recallelectionof Chadwick April 7. Instead, the council placed a new resolution on the agenda to hold a special election in April to fill the First Ward vacancy. It will remain unrepresented on the council until that election.

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala complimented Chadwick for making the decision so the ward seat would only be vacant for three months, rather than four if the recall succeeded.

Columbia paid more than $22,000 for its share of the Boone County election in April 2014, when Chadwick defeated Tyree Byndom, Bill Easley and write-in candidate John Clark with 67-percent of the vote.

Chadwick was at the center of a recall effort by multiple citizen groups who collected 451 signatures on a petition.

Chadwick said her role as a mother and student deserved more of her attention, but the role of city councilwoman is an honor.

“It’s a position that comes with power, and I used that power to uphold the laws that we had in place, and to not put laws in place that we couldn’t uphold, despite the group of citizens angered by our actions,” Chadwick said.

Chadwick voted against decriminalizing the cultivation of two marijuana plants in Columbia, and First Ward constituents said their goal is to replace her with a council member who is a better representative of the ward. Chadwick also sponsored the controversial “Tobacco 21” ordinances, which raised the legal age to buy tobacco and vapor smoking products in the city from 18 to 21.

Some behind the recall effort said Chadwick supported the marijuana decriminalization ordinance when campaigning, then changed her vote on the issue in late October, swinging the 4-3 vote. Chadwick explained she didn’t understand the legal issue behind changing that law when campaigning. Police Chief Ken Burton told the council in October that different law enforcement agencies in Columbia would handle the issue. Chadwick wanted to avoid confusion in her ward, which includes the University of Missouri campus.

Pam Cooper, a member of CoMO CouncilWatch and the Recall Chadwick coalition, said she would have liked the potential special election to be held later so the group had time to organize. However, she said the group is vetting a candidate regardless of the recall.

“We have been vetting a candidate, and we have been waiting for that candidate to make an announcement,” Cooper told ABC 17 News. “That’s up to the candidate, that’s not up to the organization. We plan to support that candidate in whatever respect we can”

Cooper said the group will hold a voter registration drive, after the the signature-gathering part of the recall petition revealed how many first ward voters weren’t registered.

Starting Tuesday at 8 a.m., First Ward candidate were able to get petitions to put their name on the April ballot. Potential candidates must live in the First Ward, and need at least fifty signatures of registered First Ward voters. Potential candidates for that seat must turn in those petitions by February 10.

Elections for Columbia’s Second and Sixth Wards will also stay on the April ballot. The filing period to run for those council positions ends January 13.

Helen Anthony retired from the Columbia City Council in October 2012, vacating the Fifth Ward seat Laura Nauser later won in a February 2013 special election.