Nearly four months after an alderman candidate died before winning his election, and with a permanent replacement still not appointed, residents are seeking answers from the City of Warrenton.

Speakers brought the matter up during public comment at the July 21 regular board meeting.

The current state and the future of the seat have been unclear since Cody Turner won the April 7 municipal election despite having died prior to election day. Jack Crump, the incumbent who lost in the election to Turner, has continued to fill the role in the meantime.

Mayor Eric Schleuter nominated Crump for the appointment to serve in the Ward 1 seat until a special election in April 2027, but the board rejected Crump’s nomination June 16 on a 3-2 vote.

Anna Farrar, who ran for the Ward 2 alderman seat but lost to Alderman Josh Chandler in April, spoke during public comment July 21, noting that no oath of office was administered after Crump’s appointment was rejected in June.

Two candidates submitted applications to fill the seat, Crump and Frank Cusumano. They are the only two candidates under consideration for the position, according to City Administrator Brandie Walters. “They were the only two who were interested in moving forward,” Walters said in an email.

Noting that the June meeting minutes state Crump would serve only until a successor is confirmed, Farrar said this “should describe an active transition, not an indefinite arrangement, and as I see it we’re moving forward without closure to this process.”

Alderman Christine Wait asked whether the city is following Missouri statute for filling the Ward 1 seat and Mayor Eric Schleuter said it is, but the state statute is “not very detailed on where it goes from there,” and the city might be able to add a time limit on how long it has to appoint a successor.

City Attorney Bradley Pryor said he had not reviewed the issue in detail, but generally speaking any local ordinance would have to be consistent with Missouri law and the state constitution.

There was some disagreement on whether a new ordinance was needed. Alderman Brandon Lang said he thought it was “something worth looking into and following up on.” Alderman Roger Romaker, meanwhile, said that situations when the ordinance would apply are “such a rarity that it’s kind of not smart to make an ordinance for a one-time event.”

Other speakers during public comment July 21 included Jess Sutton, who echoed Farrar.

“I’m going to have to agree with what she said, but I’m going to put it in more plain terms,” Sutton said. “They’re asking you to do your job. They’re asking your aldermen to create an ordinance to make you do your job. That’s the simplified version of that.”

Romaker and Wait said they understand Farrar and Sutton’s concerns about filling the alderman seat in a timely manner and respecting the will of the people.

“Unfortunately, the will of the people is deceased and cannot be put in office, and the alderman that’s currently there received the second most votes, and anybody that was appointed received no votes in the last election,” said Romaker.

“Unfortunately, the other aspect of this is we haven’t had a lot of people come forward that were interested in doing this. That’s the other caveat to this that we’re kind of dealing with,” said Wait.

The alderman vacancy was announced publicly, posted to the city website, and aldermen spread the word through their personal social media accounts, she said.

“We were asking people to step forward and represent their ward, and we had one interested party, and that was it,” Wait said. “And we did not have an opportunity to vote for that person or against that person.”

Sutton said that prior to the July 21 meeting she emailed aldermen guidance from the Missouri Municipal League that addresses the situation the city is facing. “It clearly indicates that this cannot be left open-ended,” she said.

The Warrenton Board of Aldermen will hold a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 5:45 p.m. to appoint an alderman to fill the Ward 1 seat.