The grand jury investigating Emporia City Commissioner Erren Harter for alleged misconduct has started its work.
The grand jury was empaneled Monday in Lyon County District Court and started hearing testimony. The grand jury has also scheduled its next hearing date, but that information is not being released with the grand jury conducting its business in secret until rendering its decision.
Harter is now being investigated for alleged misconduct in office. The petition that triggered the grand jury alleges Harter received “substantial interest” and failed to disclose it, as well as voting in favor of certain public funding allocations without abstaining during City Commission meetings. Harter says he has done nothing wrong during his time on the City Commission.
Last week, the recall effort against Harter came to an end as part of an “agreed upon order” between the parties — Harter, the plaintiff, on one side; Recall Committee members Haley Bradford, Kathleen Lamb and Jay Vehige, Lyon County Clerk Amie Jones and Lyon County Legal Counsel Molly Priest on the other. The order ends this recall effort from going forward, but it left the door open for other similar recall efforts to take place.
