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Henderson City Council restricts Mayor Melissa Elliott’s access to City Hall pending survey review
Summary
The Henderson City Council voted 6–2 on May 12 to revoke Mayor Melissa Elliott’s key fob and limit her in-person City Hall access for 30 days while the Council reviews an employee working-conditions survey; the Council also reinstated Garry Daeke as Mayor Pro Tem in a separate 7–1 vote.
The Henderson City Council on May 12 voted to restrict Mayor Melissa Elliott’s access to City Hall after Councilmembers raised concerns following a staff working-conditions survey.
Councilmember Sam Seifert moved to adopt Councilmember Lamont Noel’s recommendation to revoke the mayor’s key fob and limit her access to City Hall to two days per week for up to two hours per day for 30 days while the Council reviews the survey; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Garry D. Daeke and passed 6–2 (YES: Daeke, Thorpe-Cooper, Walker, Coffey, Noel, Seifert; NO: Venable, Champion). The Council previously approved adding the survey discussion and a Council-structure item to the agenda by a 6–2 vote.
The action followed an earlier procedural motion in which Councilmember Sara M. Coffey moved to remove Michael Venable as Mayor Pro Tem and reinstate Garry Daeke; that motion passed 7–1 (YES: Seifert, Venable, Daeke, Thorpe-Cooper, Walker, Coffey, Noel; NO: Champion).
Mayor Melissa Elliott issued a public statement after the access-restriction vote, saying the motions "stemmed from an employee’s alleged sexual harrassment," and described the council actions as an attack. Councilmembers said the restriction is temporary while they review the employee survey information presented by City Manager Hassan T. Kingsberry.
Council discussion included questions about whether the same standard would apply to other members who did not follow rules; Councilmember Geraldine Champion explicitly asked for consistent application. The Council did not announce additional disciplinary steps in the meeting minutes; the restriction is set for 30 days or until the Council completes its review.
The vote and related motions were taken during an add-on portion of the agenda after the Council approved a series of routine and substantive items earlier in the meeting. No formal legal findings or further personnel actions were recorded in the minutes of the May 12 meeting.
Next procedural steps recorded in the minutes: the Council will review the employee-survey information presented by City Manager Kingsberry; no additional meetings or timelines were specified beyond the 30-day temporary restriction.
