La Cygne council approves appointment ahead of election

By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com

LA CYGNE – La Cygne city officials are concerned. Three seats on the city council are up for election and none of the incumbents – Council President Thomas Capp, Keith Stoker and David Brenneman – did not file for re-election. That means that a quorum of the five-member council will be new in January.

Oscar Marino

Worried that no one would run for the open seats, officials looked at options for replacing the council members, including having the mayor appoint a person to fill the council seat. So with three months until the Nov. 4 election, Mayor Debra Wilson on Wednesday, Aug. 6, appointed Oscar Marino to fill the post on Jan. 12, 2026.

Marino was at the meeting, and a copy of his abbreviated résumé was handed out to the three council members in attendance, including Councilman Ed Smith who is not up for election this year. Councilman Jerome Mitzner was not able to attend.

The father of La Cygne police Officer John Marino, Marino has a considerable history in law enforcement and operations of courts. A former probation officer and a juvenile intake and assessment officer for a social agency in Lawrence, Kansas, his experience included 32 years of courtroom experience and 13 years of juvenile justice experience.

The council unanimously approved Marino’s appointment.

However, members of the media at the meeting expressed concern that Marino’s appointment would be voided if other write-in candidates received enough votes to be determined by the Linn County Clerk’s Office to have won seats on the council.

City Attorney Jeff Deane concurred with that concern and said that the result of the election could render the appointment invalid.

Wilson encouraged Marino to campaign for write-in votes as well.