Two councilmen vow to quit, city attorney retained

Two city councilmen in Westminster say they will step down December 31 after one year of their four-year terms.  This after, Rusty Cater and Danny Duncan voted in the minority last night on whether to restore a one-sentence provision to the city’s policy against nepotism.  That one-sentence addition will make ineligible immediate members of the family of an elected city official for employment from the city.  Rusty Cater decried the situation that now appears to confront a third city councilman, Reid Adams, and Councilman Adams’ wife, Jennifer, the city clerk-treasurer. At the request of Mr. Adams, City Attorney Andrew Holliday gave an opinion that outlines three choices for the Adams.  Either Mr. Adams could also quit or Mrs. Adams could resign.  A third option, as explained by Holliday, would be to take no action although the lack of action, he suggested, could open Westminster to a legal challenge.  Last night’s meeting was also rocky for the city attorney.  After 45-minutes closed meeting at the start, a motion to replace Holliday with former city attorney Derek Enderlin failed 2 in favor, 6 opposed.