Absentee City Clerk Turns in His Resignation
Patrick E. Keller, the Hawthorne city clerk criticized for living in Hawaii while collecting his $600-a-month city paycheck, has officially resigned.
Keller moved to Hawaii in 1987, but it was not until last week that city officials learned that he had been using a friend’s address on his voter registration form.
On Thursday, Keller notified the mayor that he planned to resign, and later faxed a terse, two-sentence resignation letter to City Hall from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. “Thank you for the opportunity to have been associated with the city government of Hawthorne,” Keller wrote.
City Atty. Michael Adamson said the City Council now has 30 days either to appoint someone to serve the two years remaining in Keller’s term or to begin making plans for a November election to fill the post.
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