London Mayor Randall Weddle to be reinstated immediately after judge’s ruling
A judge ruled Monday that Randall Weddle, the recently impeached mayor of London, should return to office immediately because the city council had insufficient grounds to remove him.
David Williams, a special judge serving in Laurel County, ruled that Weddle should be reinstated as mayor of the town “effective immediately,” just weeks after he was removed.
Soon after the ruling was issued, Weddle appeared with the council in a specially called meeting on several topics, including city tax rates. Before the meeting started, Weddle asked the council to put aside personal grudges and 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.”
Weddle added that he doesn’t hold any grudges against the council and wants to finish projects for London.
“The city just needs to move forward,” Weddle said. “We got a lot of projects, a lot of things we need to get done. We’re here for the people and London, we’re going to be staying committed to that and stay focused on what you’ve elected me to do.”
Earlier this month, the council filed 11 charges of misconduct or willful neglect against the former mayor, including misusing city police department funds for a personal protection detail, leaving vacant an ethics commission seat and illegally signing a $5 million mortgage on behalf of the city without council approval.
After a recent nine-hour meeting, the council unanimously agreed that three of Weddle’s 11 charges warranted removal from office.
Weddle has many supporters in London. More than 2,000 residents signed a petition opposing his impeachment, and people packed the Laurel County Judicial Center on the day of the vote to oppose his removal.
Weddle appealed the impeachment ruling Sept. 11 in Laurel County Circuit Court.
The council appointed Tracie Handley, a London resident and retired trial science consultant, as acting mayor. She was sworn in shortly after Weddle’s impeachment vote.
Attorneys representing the council, Conrad Cessna and Chris Wiest, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement released on Facebook after Williams’ order, Weddle said the last three weeks have been a challenging time for him and his family. He added the time has been challenging for city hall employees as well.
“We thank God for getting all of us through this, and today democracy does live,” Weddle said.
Weddle was not sworn back in as mayor during Monday’s meeting. His lawyer, Carmine Iaccarino, said he was pleased with Williams’ decision.
“I hope this is a turning point for the city of London and that the city council extends its hand to work with the man chosen by the people of London to lead the city of London,” Iaccarino said in the statement.
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 29, 2025 at 5:56 PM.
