More community leaders are calling for action surrounding a Woodbury County supervisor whose wife was convicted last month of voter fraud. At last (Tuesday) night’s county board meeting, two unions representing law enforcement and labor called for the resignation of Jeremy Taylor, who was first elected to the all-Republican board in 2014. Taylor wasn’t swayed.

“I wanted to just make a statement in response to some of the statements that have been made tonight,” Taylor says. “I was elected by the people of this county to do a job, and I take that very seriously and work hard to do the absolute best job I can. They hold us accountable every four years.” Board Chairman Matthew Ung says having Taylor in office is a distraction to the work that needs to be done by local government.

“It’s a sad situation and it’s something that the board shouldn’t have to get into,” Ung says, “but we’re forced into it by the position that he’s in.” The board decided not to vote on a resolution brought forward by the county auditor to call on the state attorney general to investigate the Taylors as a way to remove him from office. They said the public can file a petition through district court instead. Ung was one of three board members who previously called on Taylor to resign.

“Almost the whole meeting was about him,” Ung says. “Most people attending were here to see if he would say anything and address the elephant in the room, which is the fact that he was labeled a co-conspirator by the government during the trial of his wife.” The board accepted the resignation of Taylor as vice chair, a move that was mainly symbolic, since there are only two more meetings left this year. New leadership gets picked in January. Taylor’s wife, Kim, was convicted on November 21st on 52 counts of voter fraud connected to elections in 2020 when her husband’s name was on the ballot.