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proceedings. Mr. Price stated that the certification will happen, regardless of this special meeting, because no one in this City can legally supersede a decision made by the Court. He then asked Mr. Kraft why he felt the need to initiate this special meeting prior to the Court’s ruling? Mr. Kraft stated that the first thing he would like to say is that he is unhappy to hear that another member was unaware of the meeting and that everyone had not received an email or written notification. He stated that there are some suggestions that broke broke the law, and that is not the case. Mr. Kraft stated that Council is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri and based on those laws the St. Louis County Board of Election certifies winners of elections and Council votes to accept that certification. At that point the winners are sworn in and become a part of the th Council. He stated that his belief is that he was certified on April 14 by the St. Louis County Board of Elections, as well as Mayor Welsch, Mr. Glickert and Mr. Jennings, as winners of the thth April 8 election. Mr. Kraft stated that at the April 24 meeting this Council accepted his certification, and the certifications of Mayor Welsch and Mr. Glickert, but for some reason, that is not clear, Mr. Jennings’ certification was omitted. Perhaps it was assumed that a recount would happen. Perhaps some people were misinformed about what the law actually says. But whatever the outcome of the recount that may or may not happen, the law of the State of Missouri is really clear, and Section 115.596 states, “In each case of a pending election contest for office the person holding the certificate of election may qualify and take the office at the time specified by law, and exercise the duties of the office until the contest has been decided. If the contest is decided against the contestee the Court or legislative body trying the contest shall make an order for him to give up the office to the person determined to be entitled to the office.” Mr. Kraft stated that the City erred and should have certified all of the winners, because that’s what the law says. He stated that he has consulted with several lawyers and is certain that Council would not have been breaking the law to accept the certification of Mr. Jennings on the twenty-fourth. So in light of that error he stated that he was one of two Councilmembers that asked for a Special Council Meeting to correct the previous error of not accepting the election . certification of Mr. JenningsHe stated that the meeting was properly posted, properly held, the vote was taken and it was adjourned. Mr. Kraft stated that the meeting was legal and that Council had the responsibility to act. He stated that at the time of the meeting on Thursday, Council had received no legal notice from the County Election authority that a recount was pending, planned, thought about or scheduled. As of today, Council and the City have received no notice from the County Election authority that a recount is planned, requested or even under consideration. Mr. Kraft stated that the City and Council have received no legal notice of a recount request from Mr. Smotherson or his attorney, Steve McMahon, and no legal notification of a recount from any court, so Council was perfectly within its right; and he thinks that they were obligated, to recognize the certification. He stated that in addition, he firmly believes that Mr. Smotherson is ignoring the laws of the State of Missouri by claiming that the irreparable harm was so great that he asked the Circuit Court for a Temporary Restraining Order to prohibit the County Election Board from certifying Mr. Jennings and allowing him to be sworn in. Mr. Kraft stated that this Temporary Restraining Order is clearly in error, and while the attorney for the St. Louis County Board of Elections will eventually speak for himself, the election board attorney felt that the request for the order was so far beyond the bounds of normal legal practice that he has requested that the Court impose sanctions on Mr. McMahon and Mr. Smotherson. He stated that sanctions are something for the Court to deal with and it will be heard next week. The Court found that the Restraining Order for the Election Board was in error and Mr. McMahon argued for dismissal of the Restraining Order in order to avoid further argument. Therefore Mr. Jennings will not get his day in court until the twentieth of May, which will be almost seven weeks after the election. Mr. Kraft stated that the real question is why is it taking so long for a recount, since the election laws state that it shall occur immediately? He stated that he would agree that something is not right. The voters of University City choose a representative over a month ago, so somebody should already be sitting up here as a part of the Council. Mr. Price stated that Mr. Kraft is not an attorney and therefore lacks the expertise to properly answer legal questions. The way it appears is that he had some underlying motive to conduct this 7