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City attorney warns mayor–county supervisor roles appear incompatible; council to revisit on Jan. 21
Summary
Indianola city attorney Doug Eichholtz told the council Jan. 6 that holding the mayor’s office while serving as a county supervisor appears legally incompatible under Iowa law; council members agreed to wait until their Jan. 21 meeting for further information and to allow the mayor time to consult counsel.
City Attorney Doug Eichholtz told the Indianola City Council on Jan. 6 that, based on past attorney general opinions and case law, holding the offices of city mayor and county supervisor at the same time appears to be legally incompatible.
Eichholtz said the legal authorities are “very vague” and cited historical attorney general rulings that treated the two offices as incompatible. He warned the council that, if a court or the attorney general later finds the positions incompatible, an official who took the second incompatible office could automatically vacate the first, leaving city actions taken by that official vulnerable to being voided.
The legal question matters because Mayor Stephanie Erickson assumed the county supervisor role Jan. 2, according to Eichholtz. Eichholtz said the city sought an updated attorney general…
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