Davenport City Council holds off on vote to fill 7th Ward seat

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Davenport City Council was set to vote on a resolution, Wednesday evening, to appoint Chris Jerome to the 7th Ward after Derek Cornette was removed from the seat on Sept. 7. However, the council chose to vote at a later date.

The Mayor says he may add it to the agenda next week, or wait until after Cornette sees a judge about an injunction to prohibit city leaders from enforcing his removal from office and reinstating him. Court records show a hearing in the Cornette suit was set for Oct. 6 via Zoom.

Cornette says he plans on running for election this fall.

If the council votes to appoint Jerome to the 7th Ward, he will only serve in the position until a new alderman is elected in November.

All of this comes as further controversy among city council has been mentioned, including Ald. Tim Kelly saying last week he heard fellow council members using racist terms.

During the meeting, it was mentioned that Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said the city would open an investigation into claims made by Ald. Tim Kelly about fellow alderman, Robbie Ortiz, using racist slurs.