Sedgwick County Republicans hold off on censuring Wichita City Council member Becky Tuttle

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Members of the Sedgwick County Republican Party met Thursday night, where they discussed possibly censuring Wichita City Council member Becky Tuttle. The discussion comes after some party members feel that Tuttle, a Republican, is not voting along party lines, even though Tuttle’s position on the Wichita city council is technically non-partisan.

At Thursday night’s Republican Party meeting, tempers flared during the censure discussion. Instead of going straight to a censure vote, there was agreement that there should be a conversation between Tuttle and those who’ve expressed concerns about her formal actions on the city council.

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“The censure came from precinct people within the Republican party, who were frustrated with Council member Tuttle’s votes. Fortunately, some of those precinct people and Council member Tuttle are going to sit down and have a conversation, so there was no censure motion brought this evening,” said Sedgwick County Republican Party Chair John Witmer. “And as a leadership team, we’re glad that was the resolution.”

Some Sedgwick County Republicans at Thursday night’s meeting were ready to have that conversation as a full party, not just between Tuttle and those who launched the complaint.

“I’ve never heard of a censure being used against a city official, a non-partisan. However, I am ready to have that discussion, and as someone who, back when they moved here years ago, took issue with some of the votes that Council member Tuttle (took), I did understand it’s important to have that discussion,” said Sedgwick County Republican Party Precinct Chair Joseph Texdozier.

12 News reached out to Tuttle for comment, but as of late Thursday night, had not received a response.

If the city council member were to be censured in the future, the Sedgwick County Republican Party would issue a statement voicing their disapproval of her conduct but Tuttle would not lose local party membership or face any other penalty.