Des Moines mayor asks absent councilor to respond to letter or assume she's 'abandoned' seat

In a last-ditch effort, the Des Moines City Council is giving colleague Indira Sheumaker until Monday to explain her nearly six-month absence.

Mayor Frank Cownie wrote a letter on behalf of the council that asks Sheumaker to communicate her "intentions" regarding her duties as Ward 1 representative and help the city facilitate a plan to restore representation on Des Moines' northwest side.

If she doesn't, the council will presume she has abandoned the office and will "proceed accordingly," the letter states.

A separate statement from Cownie shows the city was unsuccessful in delivering it.

Sheumaker, who was elected in 2021, has not attended council meetings or work sessions since March 6, and according to other city officials she has not communicated with them or responded to inquiries during her absence.

In April, her father told the Register she had been hospitalized but declined to say why or for how long. Sheumaker did not immediately respond to the Register for comment Thursday.

"In light of the circumstances ... we are concerned for your well-being and concerned for the adequacy of First Ward representation in your ongoing and continual absence," the letter to Sheumaker says.

The note comes amid pressure from a growing number of constituents calling for Sheumaker to step down. The latest push comes from five residents in Ward 1 who filed a "citizens complaint" to the city in early August asking that council members vote to remove her.

The letter from Cownie states the city wants to "respond to constituents' request for action," adding it is prepared to work with Sheumaker to restore "complete" representation.

City: Letter to Sheumaker is 'unsuccessful'

The city made multiple attempts to hand-deliver the letter to Sheumaker last week using a professional process server but was unsuccessful, Cownie said in the written statement. City spokesperson Al Setka said the server attempted five times.

City officials then attempted to send the letter through certified mail on Monday, but received notice from the United States Postal Service that the letter was undeliverable to her last known address, according to the statement.

Certified mail provides the sender with a mailing receipt and electronic verification that the item was delivered or that an attempt was made, according to the USPS. The item requires a delivery signature.

City officials told the Register the Aug. 28 deadline still stands, despite the delivery being unsuccessful.

If the city does not hear from Sheumaker by then, "City Council members will then begin the process of reviewing options and determining how they would like to proceed," Setka wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Setka added that while it would be "premature to speculate" on what the options are, the council could tentatively take some form of action at the Sept. 11 meeting.

More: Can absent council member Indira Sheumaker be removed? Here's what the law says:

In his statement, Cownie calls Sheumaker's lack of communication and the inability to reach her "frustrating."

"What we sought was a simple dialogue," Cownie wrote. "We’d wanted to know what we could have done to assist Councilor Sheumaker regarding her elected position and how we could have helped restore the Council representation that Ward I residents expect and deserve."

Read the letter below:

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines mayor asks absent council member Indira Sheumaker to respond