JoCo mayor was selling business and home while campaigning. Now he’s moving to Florida.

Spring Hill Mayor-elect Tyler Graves will not assume office on Jan. 10, leaving many residents to wonder why they weren’t told of his plans to move out of state during his recent campaign.

On Thursday, Graves resigned and announced his family was moving to Florida. In a Facebook post, he cited “unforeseen circumstances” and asked the community for privacy.

His resignation means half of the town’s political leadership will have been appointed, rather than elected. Graves also resigned from his current council seat, meaning his departure creates two vacancies. And one member of the five-member council was already appointed following a vacancy.

Graves was elected mayor on Nov. 2, after incumbent Steven Ellis announced he would not seek reelection. Graves defeated councilman Steve Owen, recording 426 votes to Owen’s 274.

But he sold his Spring Hill business weeks before the election and appears to have began the process of selling his home well before election day.

“If he was a man of character, of ethics, and the strong Christian faith that he claims to have, he should have announced to everybody, don’t vote for me because i cannot be your mayor,” said Spring Hill resident Roy Riffel.

Riffel, who unsuccessfully ran for council in this month’s election, said the council should appoint candidates who lost rather than handpicking from their political alliances.

“They knew if this panned out where Tyler won and couldn’t fulfill the seat, they could pick. It’s a good ol’ boy’s game,” he said. “They showed the city of Spring Hill they don’t care about your vote.”

Graves did not respond to a request for comment or to detailed questions in an email.

“I don’t even know why he would’ve even bothered to run for mayor or why you would endorse somebody that, you have obviously heard the rumors unless you’re not connected to any citizens in this city,” Steven Boswell, a previous unsuccessful candidate for council, said during the public comments section of Thursday’s city council meeting.

Residents continue to express frustration and outrage on the City of Spring Hill Government’s Facebook Page.

After Graves announced his resignation, Ellis asked Spring Hill’s City Attorney Charles Dunlay for the next steps in appointing a new mayor.

“While this is disappointing news to many, it is understandable that he is making decisions in the best interests of his family, and that those decisions come before civic duty,” Ellis said in a statement to The Star. “I wish him the best and thank him for his service these past nearly two years.”

Together with his wife, Graves owned The Bean coffee shop, one of the few retail businesses in Spring Hill’s small downtown.

The couple announced on Aug. 22 that they were selling the business in order to enjoy more family time together. A post on Facebook also referenced Graves’ responsibilities on the council and his mayoral race. Commenting on an Aug. 31 Instagram post about selling, the coffee shop made mention of opening a Florida shop.

Graves filed to run for mayor Feb. 5. The deadline to file or withdraw from the race was June 1, according to the Johnson County Election Office.

Yet even when candidates are unable to officially withdraw, they can bow out of election contests.

Embattled pediatrician and Blue Valley school board candidate Christine White told voters on Sept. 24 she would not take office if she were to win the race. White had come under fire for her controversial stances against masks and other pandemic safety policies in schools.

“While it is too late to remove my name from the ballot, if I am elected, I will resign the position to allow another community volunteer to serve in that capacity,” she wrote on Facebook.

White did not win election Nov. 2.

Graves and his wife, Crystil Graves, also filled out a home seller’s disclosure before election day, according to the document, which was obtained by The Star. A seller’s disclosure is a standardized form that homeowners prepare that documents the home’s history of maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

Data from the Heartland Multiple Listing Service, the repository for most real estate transactions in the Kansas City metro area, show information on the Graves home was uploaded into the system on Nov. 3, the day after the election. The home was officially listed for sale on Nov. 5 and was under contract with a buyer the next day.

The current council and mayor may appoint someone to fill Graves’ council seat. But the mayoral vacancy will be filled once the new council is seated in January. The council members will elect a president, who then becomes the new mayor. The council and the mayor will then appoint a new council member.

Some residents are pushing for a change to the current city ordinance governing that process. They hope to see the city automatically appoint candidates who were on the ballot.

Ellis on Thursday asked the city attorney to draft a memo outlining what process state law entails to contest an election or change charter ordinances.

This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 4:03 PM.