The Annapolis City Council met in closed session Monday night to discuss the residency issues surrounding Alderman Kenneth A. Kirby, who is without a permanent home, but offered no new details on how the city would proceed on the issue.
Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen said the council had a "candid and privileged" discussion with City Attorney Karen Hardwick. Cohen said he instructed Hardwick to draft a memo to address two issues: what the city code and charter say about residency requirements and what role the mayor and council play in determining that those standards are met. He set a two-week deadline.
Republicans have called for the city to investigate whether Kirby, a Democrat who claims an address in his district as his legal address but has acknowledged he stays with a network of family and friends, properly lives in his district. Some have also called for the Council to replace him. Last week, the city's election board heard testimony on Kirby's residency but said it had no authority to investigate the matter.
Questions over Kirby's residence were raised after he was found in a public housing apartment last month during a drug raid. No drugs were found in the apartment where Kirby was staying, and police said he was innocent of any wrongdoing.