The city of Elsmere’s caucus meeting on Dec. 3 was rife with comments regarding councilmember Serena Owen, who once again was not present.
Owen has faced backlash from other city council members and some Elsmere residents after she stopped attending meetings in person in June. She has cited her disability and an unsafe environment in the council chambers for her absence.
The latter stems from a dispute centered on her insistence to waive pay for her council duties, which is stated to be unfeasible within the city’s authority. She also said she feels threatened by the regular attendance of a community member who carries an unloaded gun to the meetings.
Since September, Owen has requested that the council allow her to attend meetings remotely on the grounds of her disability, which was the main subject of December’s caucus meeting.
Some Elsmere citizens also shared remarks about the request.
“If you work in any other job and you claim a disability, you can’t go do that same thing elsewhere and not have the same disability affecting you everywhere,” said Andrew Myatt, who ran as a write-in candidate for the 2024 Elsmere City Council election. He criticized Owen’s attendance at a recent Erlanger City Council meeting amidst her prolonged absence in Elsmere.
Other speakers questioned her lack of accountability as an elected official — Owen was reelected in November with the second-highest vote count. Eric Bunzow, an employee with the Kenton County Board of Elections and a vocal critic of Owen’s, stated that a council member attending virtually would not be able to vote on issues and items under discussion.
“You’re a public servant,” he said. “You should be here.”
Bunzow also said a car break-in prompted him to start carrying his unloaded gun on his person to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
“It’s not a deadly weapon without ammo,” he said.
Answering a citizen question about the safety risks of an unloaded weapon, Police Chief Russell Wood later noted that it could only be used as a club or thrown.
Owen’s husband, Larry Owen, a member of Kenton County Conservation District Board, asked that the council grant her ADA accommodation request.
Nevertheless, the virtual attendance request did not get support from any council member.
“If you’re virtual, you’re not allowed to vote on anything that the citizens bring forth to you,” said councilmember Joanne Barnett-Smith. “Why would you want to be virtual if your voice cannot be counted anyway? So come to our meetings, take your job seriously. The people voted for you. They want you here.”
Owen has not responded to the city and police department’s offers to remedy her safety concerns, according to Wood, which include a police escort inside the council chambers and plexiglass.
Any decision about the request will fall to the new council, which will be sworn in in January. However, an ordinance signed in January 2025 will not take effect until January 2027, Bunzow said.