London City Council appeals judge’s decision to reinstate impeached mayor
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge ruled council lacked grounds for impeachment, reinstated Mayor Weddle
- City Council filed appeal hours after reinstatement ruling by Judge Williams
- Weddle urged council unity and focus on governance after court reinstatement
The London City Council has appealed a judge’s ruling to reinstate Randall Weddle as mayor of London, according to court documents.
On Monday, the special judge presiding over the case, David Williams, ruled that the council failed to present sufficient grounds for impeaching Weddle, and thus reinstated him as mayor effective immediately. The ruling came during a status hearing, which was scheduled after Williams learned that Acting Mayor Tracie Handley went against his admonition not to make major decisions for the city while the case is ongoing
Handley scheduled a special meeting for Monday to approve housing authority board and ethics board appointments, according to court documents.
However, sometime later Monday, the council appealed Williams’ ruling to reinstate Weddle, according to court documents. Attorneys representing the council, Conrad Cessna and Chris Wiest, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Weddle was impeached on Sept. 5 after the council unanimously agreed he committed misconduct or willful neglect on five of the 11 charges he faced. Of those, the council voted unanimously that three of the counts warranted removing him from office.
Immediately after the hearing, the council appointed Handley, a London resident and retired trial science consultant, as acting mayor.
Weddle appealed the impeachment ruling Sept. 11 in Laurel County Circuit Court.
Weddle appeared before city council after being reinstated
Soon after Williams’ ruling to reinstate Weddle was issued on Monday, Weddle appeared with the council in a special-called meeting on several topics, including city tax rates. Before the meeting started, Weddle said he doesn’t hold any grudges with the council members and asked them to move forward for the people.
“You’ve done what you’ve done, and the courts have overturned your ruling. I’m just asking now that you guys start working with me, and I with you, and let’s move the city of London forward,” Weddle said. “We should be doing the people’s business and putting aside all of our personal feelings.”
In a statement posted on Facebook after the meeting, Weddle further emphasized his desire to move on and prioritize working for the city.
“Let's heal those wounds and forgive one another, just like I told council in the council meeting, and let's just move this city forward,” Weddle said. “I was elected to do a job by the voters of London, and I want to continue to do that job, and I’m asking council to do the same thing.”
Weddle was not immediately available Tuesday for comment on the council’s appeal.
Williams is the Vice Chief Regional Circuit Judge for the 40th Judicial Circuit, which covers Clinton, Cumberland and Monroe counties. He was appointed as a special judge for the proceedings because the regular judge from the 27th Circuit was disqualified from presiding over the case, according to court documents.
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 11:03 AM.
