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Former Lee’s Summit Mayor Messerli Cited by Kansas Highway Patrol
August 21, 2010
Former Lee’s Summit Mayor Messerli Cited by Kansas Highway Patrol Doesn’t show for Arraignment
By Debbie Van Pelt
Former Lee’s Summit Mayor Karen Rose
Messerli was cited by the Kansas Highway Patrol in Johnson County for traffic
violations on June 17th. There is no indication why Messerli was stopped by the officer, but she was
ticketed for two violations: invalid
registration and not having liability insurance. According to the ticket, which was written at
3:27 PM on I-435W at Lee Boulevard, the Missouri tag on Messerli’s 2008 Hyundai
had expired in April, 2010. The officer
set an arraignment date of August 18th at 9:30 AM at the Johnson
County Courthouse in Olathe. Messerli
was not in the court room for her scheduled arraignment.
According to employees in the
Johnson County Traffic Clerk’s office, because the two offenses are
misdemeanors, Messerli would receive an automatic 30-day extension to appear at
the District Attorney’s office and show proof that her vehicle is now properly registered
and insured. If Messerli complies during the 30-day period,
the District Attorney’s staff will advise her of the applicable fine, which
will be based on the amount of time the car has not been properly licensed and
insured. Messerli can avoid a court
appearance by providing the required documentation and fine payment to the
District Attorney’s office by September 17. However, failure to do so would result in suspension of her driver’s
license.
Messerli was mayor of Lee’s Summit
for 16 years, from 1994 until 2010. Prior
to becoming mayor, she served on the city council. If she had won her 2010 bid, it would have
been her 5th and final term as Mayor. An amendment in 2007 to the city’s charter
placed a two-term limit on the number of consecutive terms a city elected
official can serve.
The 2010 mayoral election was
peppered with comments by opponent Randy Rhoads that Messerli’s excessive
absences from meetings had detrimentally affected her ability to govern. Records show that since Messerli became mayor
in 1994, she had missed 23 percent of regular city council meetings. Messerli missed numerous meetings due to illness
and injury, but she said she often had to miss meetings to handle other city
business. Despite her explanations,
Messerli only received 40% of the vote in the April 6th election. On April 22, 2010, Messerli handed the
mayor’s gavel to Randy Rhoads.
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