In a preliminary hearing today in the court of Judge Keith G. Kautz concerning the lawsuit filed by Sweetwater County residents to overturn the illegal appointment of Don VanMatre to replace Paula Wonnacott on the Sweetwater County Board of Commissioners, all parties involved agreed to a stipulation of the facts presented in the petition.
As a result, the Plaintiff’s attorney, Bruce Moats, will submit the stipulation of those facts in written form to Judge Kautz for his final approval. Since the stipulated facts present a clear violation of Wyoming’s open meeting act, once they are signed by the judge, the December 30, 2010 appointment of Don VanMatre by then Commissioners Delai-Boese and Walker will be determined to be “Null and Void” by Wyoming law.
This process will likely take a matter of only a few days, and barring any unforseen challenges, means that by the end of this week there will once again be a vacancy on the Board of Commissioners for Sweetwater County.
At that time, the current commissioners will likely declare the vacancy, and ask for letters of interest from the residents of Sweetwater County who wish to be considered for appointment to fill the vacancy. As the office was previously held by an Independent, any qualified candidate, regardless of political affiliation, can be appointed to fill the vacancy.
HB0136, which has passed the Wyoming House and is awaiting approval by the Senate, stipulates a twenty day filing period for interested candidates once the vacancy is published in the county’s official newspaper. While the current commission isn’t bound by that proposed legislation, it is very likely that they will follow a similar course of action.
Related posts:
- Sweetwater County Commissioners Choose Not To Contest Lawsuit Against Illegal Appointment At the Sweetwater County Commissioners meeting on 1/18/2010, the commissioners confirmed that they had received the injunction that was filed...
- Sweetwater County Attorney Offers No Objection To Lawsuit Against County Commissioners. On January 26, Sweetwater County Attorney Brett Johnson filed an answer to the lawsuit filed by residents seeking to overturn...
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Curious, with this could the old commission be charged with violation of the open meetings law and face penalties?
Different process. The County Attorney was clear in his response that he did not admit any criminal wrongdoing on behalf of the former board. If enough people chose to call the Sheriff and complain about their activities, he could follow up with a criminal investigation, but these proceedings probably couldn’t be used against them.
Mr. Randy Walker having been a City Councilman for the City of Green River was schooled and knew all the parameters of the open meetings law. I just cannot believe this took place. What in the world were he and Delai-Boese thinking? Oh yea, guess they weren’t thinking! Once again the State of Wyoming and its citizens see how retarded politics in Sweetwater County really are.