Commissioner's wife to run for Mason council

The wife of former Mason mayor and current Warren County Commissioner Tom Grossmann has pulled petitions to run for one of the open seats on Mason City Council.

Kathy Grossmann's decision to run came as her husband spoke out against the way he believed some on Mason City Council handled embattled Councilman Rich Cox's resignation.

Cox announced his resignation in early July after he was questioned, but not criminally charged, by police who saw him leave the hotel room of a suspected prostitute.

The person council appoints to replace Cox will not have to run for election until 2017 because Cox's resignation date is not effective until Aug. 10,  after the city's filing deadline.

As The Enquirer reported, Tom Grossmann believes some Mason council members forced Cox to resign only after the deadline to file had passed, thus circumventing the city's charter and taking the choice of a replacement out of voters' hands.

Vice Mayor Victor Kidd, who is running for re-election, hit back at Grossmann's allegations, calling the commissioner a "disruptive individual ... flaming the flames of a phantom fire."

But Kidd told The Enquirer this week he has no problems with Kathy Grossmann running for and potentially winning an open seat, and believes she would be a good addition to council.

Three council seats are open, as current member Jim Fox is not seeking re-election.

Fox says he is "semi-retired" and plans to continue to shed some of his commitments over the next few years.

"I didn't want to start something I couldn't finish," he said.

Six people, including Kidd, Kathy Grossmann and current council member Barbara Berry-Spaeth, are running for the open positions. The other challengers are Tony Bradburn, Brad Glass and Rick Inskeep.

The top three vote-getters will win election. As of Tuesday afternoon, Kidd and Kathy Grossmann had not turned in all the required signatures to be placed on the ballot, according to the Warren County Board of Elections website.