Frankfort City Commission candidate Kyle Thompson has filed a second open meetings appeal with the Kentucky Attorney General based on allegations that a quorum of the members of the current City Commission purposely engaged in a series of illegal less than quorum meetings to secretly discuss dismissal of City Manager Keith Parker and avoid the requirements of the open meetings law.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48229

In an appeal filed by The State Journal earlier this month — arising from the same facts but based on evidence obtained from Parker — the Attorney General found that a quorum of the commission members engaged in conduct that the law expressly prohibits.

Nevertheless, the Attorney General found insufficient evidence that the purpose of the commission members who engaged in the conduct was to avoid the requirements of the open meetings law.

https://ag.ky.gov/Priorities/Government-Transparency/orom/2020/20-OMD-1…

Thompson's complaint and appeal present new evidence of the commission members' purpose. He focuses on an email addressed to Mayor Bill May in which Kentucky Capital Development Corp. President Terri Bradshaw recounts a conversation with Commissioner Scott Tippett. In it, Tippett told Bradshaw that May "had three votes" to fire Parker and that the mayor wanted Tippett to be the fourth.

On behalf of the City Commission, Mayor May denied Thompson's open meetings complaint — just as he previously denied The State Journal's complaint — insisting that Tippett's statement was nothing more than an observation of the political situation and not proof of a purpose to avoid the open meetings law.

Thompson thereafter appealed.

The spotlight once again turns on the Kentucky Attorney General to determine whether — based on Bradshaw's statement — the serial less than quorum meetings — the occurrence of which the city does not contest — violated the open meetings law.