London Mayor Randall Weddle impeached on misconduct charges, removed from office
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City Council voted unanimously to impeach former Mayor Weddle on key charges.
- Weddle plans legal appeal despite removal; no criminal conviction occurred.
- Public turnout forced overflow seating as impeachment drew widespread attention.
The London City Council voted Friday to impeach and remove Mayor Randall Weddle from office.
After hours of testimony, the council unanimously agreed Weddle had 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.
Council member Anthony Ortega cast the only vote against removing Weddle from office on the other two counts. Weddle was not convicted of any criminal activity.
The misconduct claims against Weddle included misusing the city’s police department and its funds for personal protection detail; intimidating others with the protection detail; leaving an ethics commission seat vacant; failing to host meetings and publish enacted ordinances online; and illegally signing a $5 million mortgage for a property on behalf of the city without council approval.
Following the impeachment vote, the council quickly approved a motion to appoint a new mayor, although discussion about the appointment was muffled and drowned out by members of the gallery, and no councilmembers gave interviews after the vote.
WKYT reported the acting mayor is Tracie Handley. Council member Justin Young posted photos on Facebook congraduating Handley for her appointment.
Weddle said after the hearing he and his legal team will appeal his removal.
“We’re going to fight this to the highest court if we have to,” Weddle said.
Weddle was elected to the mayor’s office in 2022 after defeating Judd Weaver, a current council member. The resolution to seek impeachment was brought to Weddle during a city council meeting in early August, and every council member except Stacy Benge voted for the resolution.
Benge resigned from the council one week before the hearing and was replaced by Donna Gail Wilson-House. Wilson-House voted to impeach Weddle on all five of the unanimous charges, alongside Weaver, Young Kelly Greene and Jim Baker.
Weddle testified that he cleared out his office Thursday night in anticipation of the council’s vote.
“We all know this is a witch hunt, and today I’m going to be impeached,” Weddle said on the stand hours before the vote.
Several of Weddle’s supporters attended the hearing at the Laurel County Judicial Center. So many people showed up that overflow seating had to be arranged at the Laurel County Courthouse two blocks away, where residents watched the hearing online.
Weddle and his lawyer, Carmine Iaccarino, highlighted the community’s support for Weddle in their arguments, specifically bringing up a petition of people who were against his impeachment. More than 1,200 city residents and 900 county residents signed the petition.
“Over 2,000 voters said no to this,” Weddle said. “They don’t care. They have an agenda. When you have three (council members) that’s appointed by council and three elected by the people, they don’t have to listen to the people.”
Weddle frequently made news during his time as mayor. In August 2023, about a year into his tenure, eyebrows were raised in London and Frankfort when a road project near his freight and logistics business had its construction start moved ahead of schedule.
At the time, Weddle was already under investigation for campaign finance violations when his family and business partners donated more than $200,000 to the Kentucky Democratic Party. That same year, Weddle was also being investigated for sponsoring a free gas giveaway during his campaign.
Weddle was also scrutinized for the London Police Department’s handling of a search warrant executed in December 2024. Police shot and killed 63-year-old Doug Harless after mixing up housing numbers in the rural area and serving a stolen property warrant at the wrong home.
Three residents in particular — brothers John and James Phelps, and Elijah Jarvis — were critical of Weddle after the shooting. The three residents eventually sued Weddle for defamation after he repeatedly claimed they were part of a pedophilia ring.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct the date of the fatal shooting of Doug Harless.
This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM.
