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Linwood council election settled

By Joshua Roberts - | Apr 20, 2005

The dust settled Monday on the recent Linwood city election, as the last of the new elected officers was selected for the small municipality at the southern most point of Leavenworth County.

On Monday, Leavenworth County officials randomly selected Linwood resident Edward Morris — a former council member — as the third new member of the governing body. Morris will join Linwood resident Tony Denham as new additions to the council; Charles “Dwayne” Call, an incumbent, ran unopposed in the April general election and keeps his seat.

It was a long, strange process that landed Morris and Denham in public office.

Call was the only candidate who filed to fill three vacancies on the council. Denham was elected with three write-in votes, which was a windfall compared to Morris’ total.

Morris, and four other Linwood residents, received one write-in vote each. County officials contacted the five write-in candidates, and four said they would be interested in the position, County Clerk Linda Scheer said.

On Monday, county commissioners drew Morris’ name at random from the four candidates. Morris and Denham replace outgoing council members Georgianna Smith, who lost a mayoral bid, and Delores Leonard.

The council position isn’t the only office settled. County officials said Monday that no one had met the Friday deadline for contesting election outcomes, which means Linwood tavern owner Steve Campbell will become the city’s next mayor. Campbell, a write-in candidate, defeated Smith, 34 to 32, in the general election. He is the owner of Fro’s Hideout, a local watering hole, and a 1994 graduate of Basehor-Linwood High School.

Shortly after the general election, a Linwood resident questioned whether Campbell was eligible to become mayor. The resident believed mayoral candidates must have lived in the city for at least one year.

County officials searched state statutes looking for any provision that would disqualify Campbell, but found none.