The terms of two newly appointed Clay County Election Board trustees could be short if Missouri Sen. Luann Ridgeway gets her way.

Ridgeway questioned the procedure followed by Gov. Jay Nixon in appointing Democrat Charles Broomfield and Republican Angela Beshears to the election board. Ridgeway is a Republican and Nixon is a Democrat.

Citing state statutes, Ridgeway said election board members could not be seated until the Senate confirmed their appointments. Since the Missouri General Assembly does not go back into session until January, the current election board trustees remain in office until the new ones are officially confirmed, she said.

“The governor acted in total disregard for the local senator’s wishes,” Ridgeway said. “The law is very clear — appoint, confirm

and then sworn in.”

Broomfield of Gladstone replaced Jesse Camacho on the board and Jim Chappell as chairman of the board. Chappell remains on the board. Beshears replaced Judy Beers. The board is composed of two Democrats and two Republican and the appointments are considered political plums. Trustees, who oversee all elections in the county, are each paid $4,800 a year.

Clay County Circuit Judge Rex Gabbert Nov. 5 swore the two into office.

“I’m just swearing them in. I’m not validating the appointments,” Gabbert said about the controversy. “Charlie’s a friend of mine and asked me to do it, and Luann is also a friend of mine.”

Broomfield said Ridgeway was correct in what the statutes said about the procedure for election board appointments but the Missouri Constitution was the final authority. According to the constitution, the senate has 30 days after it convenes to confirm or deny the appointments.

“The constitution trumps state statutes,” Broomfield said. “I’ve talked to a couple of lawyers on this.”

Broomfield said he did not seek the appointment but accepted it. Broomfield is a former state representative and a former county commissioner.

“It’s an honor to once again serve the people of Clay County,” Broomfield said. “I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t have the constitutional right to be sworn into office.”

Beshears said she found all the brouhaha confusing and was relying on the election board attorneys to sort it out. She said her sponsor was Republican Sen. Bill Stouffer, who represents a small portion of northeast Clay County.

“I believe we did the right thing,” Beshears said.

Beshears, a stay-at-home mom from Kearney, is the daughter of Kansas City Councilman Ed Ford, also an attorney.

Ridgeway said she did not have a problem with Beshears’ appointment but could not support Broomfield’s appointment.

“I do have a problem with Charlie Broomfield,” Ridgeway said. “Twice the voters of Clay County said no to him.”

Broomfield lost races for Clay County presiding commissioner and the U.S. Congress.

Democrat Susan Jones is also on the board.

Liberty Editor Angie Anaya Borgedalen can be reached at 781-4941 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .