Herbel complains about sharing email
Staff writer
An email Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel sent to City Administrator Brogan Jones in August has been the root of much contention in city council meetings, including Monday.
Jones forwarded the note to Mayor David Mayfield, who ordered that it be sent to all council members. Yet she was accused of a crime for forwarding it to Jones, while Jones and Mayfield were not.
“They’re as guilty as I am,” Herbel said. “If they investigated me, they should have investigated them. I just wanted it brought out that this is crap.”
Herbel’s home, the Marion County Record office, and the home of the Record’s co-owners were raided.
Herbel considered the email confidential because it contained an image of a letter to restaurant owner Kari Newell from Kansas Department of Revenue, plus Newell’s driver’s license number and date of birth.
Councilman Zach Collett challenged Herbel’s statements that the email was confidential and accused her of being opposed to openness.