Wichita ethics board to revisit decision on Mayor Lily Wu & transgender proclamation

Wichita’s ethics board will reconsider its findings that Mayor Lily Wu was in violation of the city’s ethics policy by not reading, and not arranging someone else to read ahead of time, the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation at a March meeting.

The mayor and one of the 22 complainants appealed the board’s report by Tuesday’s deadline, which means the complaint will be considered again at its July 10 meeting.

“It is possible the board will issue its final report at the end of [the July 10] meeting,” a statement by the board reads.

The appeals were not made public by the city, but The Eagle reached out to Wu and to the complainant, Helen Reicher.

Reicher shared her appeal with The Eagle. It alleges that Wu discriminated against the transgender community.

“She is supposed to represent everyone in the city of Wichita regardless of their race, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, sex, or gender,” Reicher’s appeal read.

It also alleges that the ethics report was biased.

“The verbiage of the report showed a direct bias towards Mayor Wu,” it reads. “Her dismissive responses to the complaints, saying that instead of working on more pressing matters, she was dealing with the complaints, and that those who filed the complaints discriminated against our trans community. What a bizarre and defensive statement.”

Wu confirmed the appeal to The Eagle, but did not provide details.

“I did file an appeal and will wait for the Ethics Board’s response before further comments,” she said in a text.

The ethics board cleared the mayor of a number of other alleged ethics violations, including requiring city officials to maintain public confidence, remain impartial and address constituents’ needs.

The board did not assess a fine or require the mayor to attend ethics training as part of their findings. The ethics ordinance outlines those possible reprimands for ethics violations.

The city’s ethics ordinance outlines that parties involved in ethics complaints can appeal initial findings made by the board before it finalizes their report.

This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 11:53 AM.