Paducah City Commission votes to remove David Guess 

The Paducah City Commission voted to remove commissioner David Guess during a public hearing on his racially-charged text messages from election day. 

The vote was unanimous and was taken in a public portion of the meeting after deliberations in executive session. The decision removes Guess from office effective immediately.

Guess testified during the hearing, admitting under questioning from special counsel Carol Petitt that the messages were insensitive. 

The messages were concerning some campaign signs that belonged to Dujuan Thomas placed on city-owned property. Any campaign signs placed on city property are a violation of the city's sign ordinance.

Guess sent the text messages to Greg Cherry of the Paducah Fire Department. Cherry is the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention and works in code enforcement. He testified in the hearing that he was off-duty and the messages elicited no action from him or anyone who works for him. Cherry said the matter had already been addressed. 

Cherry did testify that the texts made him uncomfortable because he did not want to appear to be in violation of the city's zero-tolerance policy, putting his job at risk. 

City employees have received sensitivity training as part of an initiative to achieve diversity, equity, and minority inclusion. 

Cherry reported the texts to Paducah Fire Chief Steve Kyle, who took them to City Manager Daron Jordan. Cherry also testified to receiving messages regarding the sign ordinance from Commissioner Sandra Wilson, along with complaints from Thomas.

Cherry testified that Thomas allegedly suggested that the code was being enforced selectively, and being used to protect sitting commissioners.

Stefanie Wilcox, Director of Paducah's Human Resources Department testified that two city employees have been terminated since the zero-tolerance policy took effect in July 2020. During cross-examination from Guess' counsel David Riley, Wilcox admitted that the actual policy is not in writing. She also testified that the policy is related only to city employees and does not cover city commissioners.

J.W. Cleary, longtime president of the Paducah-McCracken County NAACP, testified to his statement before the commission on December 15th calling for Guess' resignation. He also testified that he believes Guess has a good heart and that he made a mistake, but that sometimes you pay for your mistakes. 

Cleary was asked about and testified that on December 19th, 2022 he spoke on behalf of Guess to join the Paducah Lions Club, saying he thought he could do good for the club and the community. Cleary seconded the motion for Guess to become a member. Cleary said he felt joining the Lions Club was a different situation than serving in city government. 

Guess can appeal the decision in McCracken Circuit Court. 


Full statement from Mayor George Bray:

“Over the last 60 days, this Commission has had to wrestle with one of the toughest issues that City leaders will ever face. The decision to remove a commissioner, while very challenging and defining for the entire community, we believe sets a standard for behavior as leaders of our city going forward. While we have much work left to do, our community has made tremendous gains in the area of diversity, equity, and minority inclusion. This is one of the areas that defines the city that we all want to live in, where we want our children to live, and where others will choose to live as they make relocation decisions in the future. Simply stated, as a community we have made many gains and are simply not willing to take a step backwards.”