Arcola city council members sue mayor and city officials to protect their positions

Three Arcola city council members have filed a lawsuit against the mayor and other city officials, asking the court for protection from interference with their duties as elected officials. The lawsuit comes after the same three council members left the last city council meeting March 12 in protest of the mayor’s attempt to oust council member Ebony Sanco. In the lawsuit filed Friday by council members Sanco, Evelyn Jones and Rosemary Bigby, the council members claim that the defendants have “grossly exceeded their lawful authority and infringed upon the plaintiffs’ right to hold office.” The lawsuit says Mayor Fred Burton and other city officials infringed upon their duties as elected officials, including attempts to vacate Sanco’s seat and not putting items on the agenda requested by Jones and Bigby.

The plaintiffs also argue that only a district judge has the authority to remove an elected official from the city council. At a Feb. 13 council meeting, the mayor placed an item on the agenda to discuss whether Sanco lived in Arcola. The lawsuit alleges that Burton had Sanco followed by the Arcola Police Department to prove that she lives in Missouri City. At that meeting, the mayor and city attorney Debra Mergel presented a video of Sanco outside a home allegedly in Missouri City. Sanco provided the Houston Landing photos of her mail that shows an Arcola address. She’s also reiterated that she does in fact live in Arcola to city officials during council meetings. Regardless, Mergel gave a presentation to council, citing a city ordinance regarding eligibility to hold office, and asked Sanco to resign from office. Mergel also stated that Sanco could not vote since she allegedly didn’t live in Arcola, according to the lawsuit.