Mel Croston has resigned from the Roeland Park City Council

Mel Croston, representative of Ward 3 in the Roeland Park City Council, resigned at a council meeting last night. In a letter submitted to the governing body, Croston said she was stepping down for “personal issues” and that her resignation would be effective September 30. Croston was elected to the council in April 2013. There were just over two years remaining in her term. 

City administrator Aaron Otto tells The Pitch that a special election will be held to fill the vacancy for the balance of the term. “We are currently reaching out to the Johnson County Election Commissioner’s Office regarding the details surrounding a special election,” he says. 

Croston was one of four Roeland Park council members who voted to oppose the recent anti-discrimination ordinance protecting the rights of LGBT citizens, which passed in early August after a long and sometimes nasty battle that gripped Roeland Park government for much of the summer. She seemed to take the backlash to her vote personally. When it was decided that a revote would be held on the ordinance — it failed before it finally passed — Croston said, “I think this is something we should do tonight because I want this done. I don’t want to live another two weeks like this. Because it’s been a nightmare.”