FALMOUTH, Ky. — The City of Falmouth has a new interim mayor after the city council voted to impeach former mayor Sebastian Ernst earlier this year.
Council member Luke Price was sworn in as interim mayor earlier this month. Price has served on council for years and is a lifelong resident of Falmouth.
“I enjoy being a councilor,” he said. “But you get put in certain situations that you have to step up and be a part of it.”
Price will serve until November, at which point voters will elect a mayor to complete the term. Price told WCPO he plans to run in that election.
“Some of my goals is obviously infrastructure, always giving the best service to the citizens of the City of Falmouth,” Price said. “Safety and the well-being of citizens is number one. I want to try to get the police department back to 24-hour coverage.”
Price said he’s focused on showing citizens that lawmakers can work together and are moving forward.
“This council and this mayor is willing to work together to make progress,” he said.
It follows a tumultuous few months between the council and former mayor Ernst, who was removed from office earlier this month.
Ernst told WCPO Tuesday he still plans to appeal the impeachment.
“The people will correct all of this come November,” he wrote in a text Tuesday.
City council voted to remove Ernst after an investigation into allegations of misconduct and/or willful neglect in office. The council unanimously found him guilty of the three charges they served him with in December.
The first charge accused Ernst of prohibiting a civic organization from using city property because they didn’t align with his values. Ernst told WCPO the organization was the county Republican Party. He said the previous administration had allowed the party to hold meetings in council chambers, which he disagreed with because the building is intended to be nonpartisan.
The second accused Ernst of using his personal Facebook page as the official account for the office of the Falmouth mayor. Council alleges he then used the same account “to market property he and/or his mother own for sale or lease.”
Ernst said he discusses city business on his social media as a “citizen.”
The third charge accused Ernst of attempting to extort council member Robert Pettit into resignation, highlighting a message in which Ernst allegedly demanded Pettit resign or he would attend a school board meeting “to present evidence of assault on a minor.”
“If I was going to extort someone, which I never would, I wouldn't do it over text,” Ernst said.
It's the second time Falmouth lawmakers have voted to impeach a mayor since 2017, when Elonda Hinson was removed from office.
WCPO asked Price to respond to critics who allege council members push out lawmakers they don't like.
"If you're truthful and honest, and you're factual, you have nothing to hide. There is no questions," said Price.
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