Candidate urges council to remove Councilman Dobson, cites ethics complaints to state commission

At the April 1, 2025 Hannibal City Council meeting a candidate identified only as April asked the council to move a motion to remove Councilman Dobson from office immediately, saying she had filed ethics complaints with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

“I would like to ask the council to move a motion at tonight's meeting to remove Councilman Dobson effective immediately for misconduct and multiple ethics violations which have been reported to the Missouri Ethics Commission,” April told the council during public comment. She said she is running for the city’s Second Ward and that the allegations had been reported to state authorities.

Council members and the mayor asked whether the city code allows immediate removal and sought clarification about the legal process; the meeting record shows no motion to remove Dobson was introduced or voted on during the meeting. April said she would provide the council and mayor with details by email about the specific sections of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) she believed were violated. She also said she had spent several hours consulting with her accountant, the city and the state following the incident she described.

Why it matters: a request to remove an elected official is a significant governance action. The candidate asserted that complaints had been filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, but the council did not take formal action during the meeting and sought legal guidance.

The council did not adopt any removal action during the meeting; April said she would submit specific statutory citations by email for staff and the mayor to review.