Carey swears in new mayor after Rathburn resigns

Carey village council president Chad Kin was sworn in as mayor Tuesday by Village Solicitor Jim Gucker, after the village council received a resignation from past mayor Jennifer Rathburn at Monday night's council meeting. Rathburn's recent resignation comes after a string of previous council member resignations amid accusations of micromanaging and bullying amongst village council members. Since August, the village Fiscal Officer Laura Ewing, Village Administrator Scott Washburn and Councilman Chase Fletcher have all resigned before Rathburn. The village also recently hired Bucyrus resident Natasha Hatfield as its new fiscal officer. In Rathburn's resignation letter, she said she has "structured [her] career and life around [her] love for [the Carey] community" and was devastated after Councilman Evaristo Hernandez accused her of not caring about the community. She later says other accusations had been made of other council members and village staff of "mismanagement of funds, vague policy violations, accusations of drinking while on duty, demands of how work is to be done, and more. This has been coupled with threats of termination, constant drive-bys on job sites and daily office visits." Rathburn continued to point fingers at Kin and Hernandez, even later inviting them both to step down as a courtesy to the community. Later, she also said that if Kin were to accept the temporary position of mayor, he would be "throwing up the middle finger at [voters] and the election process." Finally, she thanked the Carey community for its continued support of her since stepping into the role of mayor, saying that she didn't want to quit but that "there are no protections for employees from council members targeting behavior." The next Carey Village Council meeting is 7 p.m. Oct. 21.