Latest news with #TransgenderDayOfVisibility
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ethics Board upholds finding against Mayor Lily Wu in proclamation incident
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Wichita Ethics Board has voted to uphold its original decision that Mayor Lily Wu violated part of the City Code of Ethics during a March proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility. The proclamation was missing Wu's signature and the mayor did not read it aloud at the March 18 city council meeting. At that meeting, Wu 'yielded the floor' to a council member who supported the proclamation. She also stated that proclamations are typically signed electronically by staff and claimed she did not request her signature to be removed. Between March 19 and April 16, the city received 22 ethics complaints against Mayor Wu. Twenty cited the missing signature, and six also took issue with her not reading the proclamation aloud. According to city code, the mayor must sign all proclamations, and the presiding officer is responsible for presenting them. Sedgwick County firefighters weigh in on schedule change On June 12, the Ethics Board ruled that evidence supports the mayor's original claim that her name was left off the proclamation due to a clerical error, but that she should have arranged for someone else to present the proclamation. Those who filed the complaints and Wu had seven business days to request additional review. Both Wu and one of the original complainants appealed the decision. On July 11, the board voted 5-1 to uphold its ruling. Following the vote, Wu shared a statement on Facebook: I'm disappointed the Ethics Board was unwilling to change its decision on the one violation they were able to find regarding the transgender proclamation. It's unfortunate we're forced to entertain distractions that impede our city's progress, but here we are. For full transparency, I'm sharing a link which includes both my appeal to the Board and my original response to the complaints. It's important our community understands the facts in this matter, which clearly reflect my conduct was appropriate in all respects. Political attacks will not stop me from representing the will of the vast majority of Wichitans, which I will continue to do fully, fairly, and honestly. Wichita Mayor Lily Wu You can find the final report from the Ethics Board below: Final-EAB-Report-2025-13-ProclamationDownload For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Appeals filed to Wichita Ethics Board over transgender proclamation
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Two formal appeals have been filed following the Wichita Ethics Board's recent ruling involving Mayor Lily Wu's handling of a proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility. According to the ethics officer, Mayor Wu herself and one of the original 22 complainants submitted appeals ahead of the deadline, which passed yesterday. Earlier this month, the Ethics Board concluded that Mayor Wu violated the city's ethics code when she failed to read the proclamation or designate someone to read it in her place. However, the board determined there was no violation related to the absence of the mayor's signature on the document, which Wu attributed to a clerical mistake. EAB-Report-2025-13-ProclamationDownload The appeals are not made public until the board issues its final report. That report could be released as soon as July 10, when the board reconvenes to review the appeals. KSN News reached out to Mayor Wu's office for comment. A spokesperson stated that the mayor will wait for the board's response before making any further remarks. Pope Leo XIV affirms celibacy for priests, demands 'firm' action on sex abuse For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's what Wichita ethics board decided about Mayor Lily Wu & transgender proclamation
Mayor Lily Wu violated the city's ethics policy by not reading, and not arranging someone else to read ahead of time, the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation at a March meeting, Wichita's Ethics Board found. The ethics board cleared Wu of other alleged violations, and didn't find sufficient evidence that she asked for her signature line to be removed from the proclamation. 'Sufficient time existed for the Mayor to fulfill her duty as the official head of the city to prepare for and preside at the council meeting. Presiding routinely includes reading proclamations approved by a majority or making preparations for and arranging in advance for someone else to read them,' the ethics board report reads. 'Voting in the minority or not voting at all, as in this case, does not change the role of a mayor to execute the will of the majority.' Council member Maggie Ballard ultimately read, and signed, the proclamation during the meeting. The board found that Wu's assistant crossed off her signature line after Wu made her own edits. Twenty-two ethics complaints were filed against the mayor after she did not read a proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility at the council's March meeting. Those complaints alleged a number of violations of the ethics code, including requiring city officials to maintain public confidence, remain impartial and address constituent's needs. She was cleared of all of those allegations. Wu will not have to pay a fine or attend ethics training as a result of her one violation. The ethics ordinance outlines those possible reprimands for ethics violations. The mayor is in Paris representing the city at the International Air Show and did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The board approved the report on a 4-1 vote, with the only no vote being the mayor's appointee to the board, Al Higdon, co-founder of the marketing agency Sullivan Higdon & Sink, now Signal Theory. After the March meeting, Wu called the proclamation a political move by former mayor Brandon Whipple's political team. She also said the proclamation 'segregated' Wichita's transgender community. The proclamation was requested by Chris Pumpelly early this year through Proud of Wichita: the LGBTQ Chamber. Pumpelly is running for District 1's open seat on the city council; he didn't announce his intent to run until earlier this month. The mayor has said she has received racist emails as backlash after she did not read the proclamation, with one email using a racial slur for Asian people.
