ELSMERE, Ky. — Amid a familiar sight in Elsmere's council chambers — an empty seat with Councilwoman Serena Owen's name placard in front of it — city residents called on the city council to remove the chronically absent Mrs. Owen.
A WCPO 9 News analysis of public records, corroborated by the City of Elsmere, shows Owen missed 16 of 23 (or 69.6%) public meetings in 2024. The last meeting she attended took place in June 2024.
“This has just been a drawn-out process. At some point, it's put up or shut up time,” said Andrew Myatt, a resident and former write-in candidate for council.
The March 4 caucus meeting held on Tuesday marks the fifth public meeting held in 2025 and the fifth Owen has missed this year. Altogether, Owen has missed 21 of 28 public meetings since 2024.
Council members seemed receptive to residents' calls for removal and discussed next steps during a public discussion.
The tentative plan includes notifying Owen of the council's intentions to hold a removal vote in April. They will also offer her a final opportunity to appear at the next council meeting on March 11. She would receive a bulletproof vest and police escort to that meeting.
Owen has previously claimed her absenteeism is due to feelings of an unsafe work environment.
She asked the city to grant her ADA accommodations, including the option to attend meetings virtually. Earlier this year, the council voted down her request, citing the cost of setting up a virtual attendance mechanism.
Per a City of Elsmere ordinance, elected officials can be removed through a unanimous vote by city council members — excluding the member who the removal vote is on — in cases of “misconduct, inability, or willful neglect in the performance of the duties,” of the official’s elected office.
Any removal vote affords the official in question the right to a “full public hearing.” The official — in this case, Owen — would also have the right to appeal the decision to the Kenton County Circuit Court.
“You get paid to do a job. You don't show," Councilwoman Joanne Barnett Smith said. “You go to any other job and don't go to work, you don't have a job.”
Owen was reelected in November, having garnered the second-most votes of any current council member.
WCPO 9 News reached out to Owen late Tuesday night. As of the publishing of this article, we are still waiting for a response.
“I'm not trying to sound like a martyr or anything, but four or five years ago, I broke my back,” Councilwoman Gloria Grubbs said. “And, I came to (city council) meetings on a walker.”
