On April 5, 2022, the Town of Nederland held an election for the position of Mayor and for three seats on the Board of Trustees. Trustee Julian Taylor ran for Mayor unopposed, and of the five
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On April 5, 2022, the Town of Nederland held an election for the position of Mayor and for three seats on the Board of Trustees. Trustee Julian Taylor ran for Mayor unopposed, and of the five candidates for Trustee, town resident David Sites received the fourth highest number of votes.
A lawsuit filed against the Town of Nederland declares that the BOT violated Nederland Municipal Code Section 2-4 by voting on May 23, 2022, that a special election will be held on August 23, 2022, rather than appointing Sites to fill the vacancy left by Taylor.
Sites’ attorneys, Scott E. Gessler and Geoffrey N. Blue of Gessler Blue LLC, sent a letter to the BOT on June 13, 2022, urging them to consider Sites’ demand in any upcoming June meeting. The BOT discussed the matter in an executive session on June 21 but did not take action in any subsequent meetings.
Due to the perceived inaction by the Town to address Sites’ demand, the “Verified Complaint from Plaintiff Sites” reads that he had no legal recourse but to file the lawsuit. Reasons were stated as to why this is viewed by the Plaintiff as a “pattern of political opposition” by the Town of Nederland.
On November 16, 2021, the BOT rejected the Nederland Downtown Development Authority’s recommendation to appoint David Sites to their Board and instead voted against his appointment. The lawsuit also indicates that the BOT’s decision to hold a special election on August 23, 2022, was not only a violation of municipal code but also was a sudden departure from its past actions.
The third reason stated in the lawsuit regarding the Town’s alleged pattern of political opposition is a belief that Taylor intentionally manipulated the BOT vacancy process in an effort to block the appointment of Sites, the candidate with the fourth highest number of votes.
The Plaintiff requests that the Court declare that the Town of Nederland illegally failed to comply with Municipal Code Section 2-4, and for the Court to order the appointment of Sites to Trustee and for the special election in August to be ineffectual.
Both David Sites and Town Staff have declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Mountain-Ear will cover more on this story as it develops.
