Impeached Carthage mayor seeks court review of removal process

CARTHAGE, Mo. — An update now on the battle for Carthage's mayoral seat, as impeached mayor Dan Rife asks for the courts to review his impeachment and rule on its validity. Late last week, Rife's attorney filed a petition for judicial review and laid out the timeline and details of the impeachment process used by [...]

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Dec 4, 2024 - 20:00

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Impeached Carthage mayor seeks court review of removal process

CARTHAGE, Mo. — An update now on the battle for Carthage's mayoral seat, as impeached mayor Dan Rife asks for the courts to review his impeachment and rule on its validity.

Late last week, Rife's attorney filed a petition for judicial review and laid out the timeline and details of the impeachment process used by the Carthage City Council.

In his filing, Rife alleges that interim mayor Alan Snow, who was sworn in the day after the impeachment, has been illegally attempting to execute the duties of the mayor.

The citizens of Carthage elected Rife mayor for his second term in 2021.

At the time of the impeachment, the council consisted of eight sitting members.

And one week later, citizens of Ward-5 recalled one of those members, basically calling into question the council's actions.

Among many of the reasons cited in Rife's petition, the main argument is that there were not enough votes to make the impeachment valid.

Rife also alleges that one or more of the council members gave false testimony, under oath, to support their efforts to remove him from office.

This petition is separate from his original request for prohibition and reinstatement.

That case was supposed to be heard before the end of the year, but has stalled due to conflicting schedules.

How Did We Get Here?

This tense power struggle within Carthage city government first emerged in mid-2023, when Mayor Dan Rife fired all the board members of the city-owned Carthage Water and Electric Plant because they failed to comply with his request for financial details.

The City Council immediately reinstated the members of the board, drawing a battle line that pitted former City Administrator Greg Dagnan, Mayor Dan Rife, and former City Attorney Nate Dally against the council and backers of the CWEP board.

That was followed by criminal charges of embezzlement against former Parks & Recreation Director Mark Peterson, after Dagnan reportedly found money missing when preparing the city budget. After a forensic audit, Peterson is facing felony charges of money laundering and stealing.

Backers of CWEP’s board, dotted with powerful people, including some elected officials, formed a political action committee, Carthage Citizens United, to promote candidates for the City Council who would fire Dagnan and impeach Rife.

That slate of Jana Schramm, Tom Barlow, Dustin Edge, and Derek Peterson – son of the accused former Parks & Recreation director – was elected April 2, and immediately fired Dagnan and started the impeachment of Rife, who had blocked the firing. The city attorney, the administrative assistant, the fire chief, and a few other city employees resigned.

Dagnan has sued the City for wrongful termination and defamation, and against CCU for tortious interference with his contract, and Rife had sued to stop his impeachment because of due process. All of this has led to legal missteps, illegally closed meetings, and rebuke by the state attorney general’s office. Dustin Edge resigned from the council. Tiffany Cossey lost her council seat after a large majority of voters from Ward 5 said 'yes' to a recall question on the November 2024 ballot.

The city also received a letter from its insurer warning that coverage could be lost or diminished because “terminations by the council” were not following employment law.