NEWS

COUNCILMAN-ELECT NEWTON’S SWEARING IN RESCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 27

...by Kimberly Connor

Thursday,  November 15, 2001

November 30, 2001
Colleyville City Park

Dateline Colleyville: Friday November 16, 2001 2:24 PM

Follow Up to article below:  LNO has received e-mails that Councilman Joe Hocutt of Colleyville has informed citizens the reason for the November 12th canvass and swearing in was because "they had to swear Richard Newton in within 10 days".  For clarification the following links provide sections from the Colleyville City Charter concerning this article:

The council member shall be sworn in at the next regular meeting:  CLICK HERE for charter wording.
Concerning the City Charter and State Code:  CLICK HERE for charter wording.

Dateline Colleyville: Thursday November 15, 2001 2:24 PM

COUNCILMAN-ELECT NEWTON’S SWEARING IN RESCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 27

Dr. Richard Newton, recently elected to Colleyville City Council Place 4, has been notified he will be sworn in at 7:30 p.m. on November 27^th, the next regular city council meeting.  The swearing in was attempted following the canvassing on Monday, November 12, but Newton said he was not informed of that plan until one hour prior to the meeting and was unable to attend.

Many citizens expected the swearing in to occur on Wednesday, November 7, following the election on Tuesday.  The city charter requires that council members be sworn in at the first regular meeting following their election.  When the swearing in did not appear on the posted agenda for the November 7 meeting, LNO contacted City Manager Bill Lindley and City Secretary Cynthia Singleton on November 5 to inquire why the charter was not being followed.  Singleton’s response appeared in LNO on November 5 and stated that the swearing in must follow canvassing, and that canvassing could not occur earlier than three days after the election according to State law.  Click here to see LNO article concerning swearing in.  The response from the city made no mention of when the canvassing or swearing in would occur.  There was also no agenda posted for the November 12 meeting on the city’s website, although the city has since stated that the agenda was posted at city hall on November 2.  The Special Municipal Election Calendar given to candidates who filed, listed November 12 as the official canvass date, but did not list a date for the swearing in.  

Singleton stated “We would have liked to have sworn him in at the next meeting but due to the State code we were not able to.  It only made sense to swear him in at the canvassing meeting because it was the next available time.  I did discuss the swearing in with Mr. Newton.”  However, the canvassing meeting is a special meeting and the charter states in Article III, Section 3.01 “Regular terms of office shall commence at the beginning of the first regular meeting of the Council following the election as provided in Article 4.”

After the announcement was made that the swearing in could not occur at the November 7^th meeting, Newton said he assumed it would then be on the agenda for the next regular meeting, November 27^th, because of the wording of the charter.  He also based this assumption on the fact that the city manager had left him a message on November 7 saying he wanted to schedule a time to get together on November 28 or later to conduct an orientation.  That implied to him that he would not be officially sworn in prior to that time.  Newton states he was never notified verbally or in writing that the swearing in had been scheduled for November 12.  He says he finds it unusual that the city has mailed him agendas and packets for every council meeting since he first filed for office, and that there was no reason for the canvassing and swearing in meeting notification to be any different.

Newton says his first notification of the swearing in was in voice mail messages left at his office and home one hour prior to the 6:00 p.m. meeting by city staff member Kelly McFarland.  The message said it was a reminder of the canvassing and swearing in.  However, McFarland had left a voice mail message at Newton's office earlier in the afternoon that did not mention the swearing in.  Newton attempted to contact the city manager via phone and email as soon as he received the message but received no reply until approximately 7:00 p.m. when his call was returned by Lindley.  At that time, Newton informed Lindley that he had not been notified prior to the 5:00 p.m. call and that to his knowledge no one had ever been sworn in at a canvassing meeting before in the history of the city.  According to Newton, Lindley apologized for the miscommunication and the fact that no written notification had been sent.  Lindley further volunteered that there was nothing political about the situation.

However, some citizens disagree.  In a letter to Mayor Arp from Colleyville resident Burk Collins, he states “I am disappointed you have chosen to stoop so low as to attempt to swear in Richard Newton without notifying him in a proper time.  The swearing in of a new member is done in the normal council meeting with a welcoming ceremony.  It is obvious you want to discredit Mr. Newton before he has a chance to attend one meeting.”

Newton began receiving calls from the media the day after the canvassing inquiring about his absence.  At least one reporter told Newton there was no notification sent out to the media about the swearing in ceremony.  

Jo Ann Gasper, Newton’s opponent, stated that she did not receive any notification from the City regarding the swearing in ceremony but did see it posted at City Hall.  She said, "I heard that Nelson Thibodeaux had contacted the City and requested that Newton be sworn in as soon as possible and I just assumed that they had complied and moved the swearing in to November 12."  When LNO asked for clarification from Gasper regarding Thibodeaux statements, she stated, "Actually, I heard that someone had requested that Richard be sworn in as soon as possible and I just assumed that it was Nelson.  They didn't actually say that it was Nelson."  Gasper continued, "I can't remember who told me or where I was when I heard it.  You hear a lot of things when you are campaigning.  It was just a rumor."

Gasper may have been referring to inquiries made by LNO as to why the November 7 agenda did not include the swearing in ceremony.  To see a full list of all correspondence between LNO and the City click here.  In all the correspondence, there is no mention that the swearing in had been moved to November 12 although the City states that the change had already been made and posted.

Gasper, who was supported by Mayor Arp during her campaign against Newton, also confirmed that she was the one who contacted the media about his failure to appear at his swearing in.  Gasper stated that she found the incident funny and thought the reporters would enjoy the story.  Gasper also stated that she didn't feel the need to contact Newton to find out the reason for his absence.  Gasper commented, "No, It didn't occur to me to call him."  I got to know several of the reporters during my campaign and I thought they would find it humorous, just like I did."  

Gasper has announced that she plans to run for city council again in May 2002.

Councilman John Orrell, who currently holds the Place 4 position, was also absent from the canvassing meeting.  According to State Code and the Colleyville City Charter, Orrell is still the active council member until Newton is officially sworn in.

When LNO contacted Newton, he stated, “It’s unfortunate that what was probably a simple miscommunication has turned into such an ordeal.  But it is also ironic that part of my platform during the campaign dealt with the way the city communicates with its citizens.  I trust that we can all quickly move past this and begin to work on the issues of the city that need our attention.”

Copyright LNO 2001 - All Rights Reserved