Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Cole County judge's decision leaves impeached former Carthage Mayor Rife with disappointment


The final door appears to have been shut on former Carthage Mayor Dan Rife's attempt to have his removal overturned.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker ruled against Rife in a decision handed down Tuesday.

Rife argued that six council members were not enough to remove him and that seven should have been required. Walker said Rife should have made that argument when he was removed and waited too long.

At the same time, Walker said, even if Rife raised the issue on a timely basis, he did not believe the former mayor was correct.







By not challenging before the city council President Pro Tem (Allen) Snow's declaration that six votes were sufficient to convict and remove him for his charged offenses, petitioner Rife likely waived the issue that he now asks the Court to decide.

Even if he had preserved the issue of review, based on the record before the court, presented by the parties in the manner they chose, petitioner Rife has not demonstrated that, as a matter of law, Section 2-122(d) requires an irreducible majority of seven votes for his removal.

Petitioner Rife accordingly has not met his burden of establishing that his removal by the Carthage City Council on six votes was unauthorized by law, and his motion for summary judgment is denied. Judgment is therefore entered for Respondent.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well now we know who was right or wrong. And he was wrong just as I thought

Anonymous said...

🎶Happy trails to you, may we never meet again🎶 (As Dan rolls off into the sunset

Anonymous said...

Tiffany Cossey was recalled.

730 votes to get her out vs 457 to keep her.

Anonymous said...

How did it take this long to remove a mayor who spent money without council approval? Carthage needs to move away from this guy and the so called elites who support him. My god I wish the best for the citizens and council members fighting this corrupt mayor and his wealthy backers!

Anonymous said...

“Anonymous said...
Well now we know who was right or wrong. And he was wrong just as I thought”

Actually, no, the decision offered nothing regarding who is right and who is wrong. It was all about procedural technicalities ….saying it wasn’t presented in the precise manner at the impeachment trial the judge believes it should have been, even though, yes, it was presented. Very tedious stuff, but it doesn’t say Dan was wrong, nor the council was right.

That will all be answered in Dan’s appeal case regarding the trial.

Anonymous said...

“How did it take this long to remove a mayor who spent money without council approval? Carthage needs to move away from this guy and the so called elites who support him. My god I wish the best for the citizens and council members fighting this corrupt mayor and his wealthy backers!”

I’ve noticed the CCU side repeatedly trying to turn things around. The elites of Carthage are the CCU. CCU is filled with names of the former generations long Broadview Country Club families and their social network. They all stand against Mayor Dan Rife. They all support Mark Peterson who is charged with embezzlement from the taxpayers through his former City job. Which is not to say they will not eat their own, if any qualified elites didn’t take up their cause. Any who were concerned with truth first before social status were mowed down. Not a problem.

Anonymous said...

Corrupt mayor? Are you kidding? Wealthy and elite supporters? That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Anonymous said...

Why was Cossey so unpopular?

It truly isn't a mystery!

Anonymous said...

He lost, and he will loose his appeal as well, so ya was right he was wrong