Former Union City Commissioner Brian Garner has submitted a complaint to the Kentucky Attorney General, alleging that the appointment of new City Commissioner George Eldridge was illegal.
Garner, who was ousted from his position by the Boone County Circuit Court in January before being subsequently passed over for an appointment on the new commission in February, initially sent his complaint to Union City Attorney Greg Voss on March 3.
According to statements from city officials at the Feb. 3 meeting of the Union City Commission, where the new members, John Mefford, Doug Bine, and Eldridge, were appointed, Eldridge’s appointment was meant to fill a vacancy left by Jeremy Ramage, who abdicated his seat on the commission shortly after winning the November election.
According to Kentucky law, Garner argues, municipal bodies must fill vacancies within 30 days of the vacancies occurring, or else the governor has the power to appoint replacements. Garner contends that since Ramage never took office in 2025, the expiration date for making an appointment was Jan. 31, before the Feb. 3 date on which Eldridge was appointed.
In a letter from attorney Jeffery Otis, with whom the city had contracted for this case, the city points to Brueggemann’s ouster, which voided all seats on the commission (except the mayor, who counts as a member of the legislature in Union commission-style government) on Jan. 31.
Otis points to a subsection in the statute that dictates that remaining commission members have thirty days to appoint replacements when vacancies occur.
Following this response, Garner submitted his complaint to the Attorney General’s office on March 7, asking the office to tender an opinion on the matter. Otis is expected to tender a formal response to Garner’s complaint sometime this week.