Independence candidate sues after election winner dies

(AP) — An Independence city council member who lost his re-election bid last week is suing to retain his seat after a winning candidate died. 

The Kansas City Star reports Mike Huff says he should be declared the winner after Karen DeLuccie died of cancer days after the election. 

DeLuccie and Jared Fears were elected to at-large seats on the council, with Huff coming in third in the voting. 

In his lawsuit, Huff says election officials should not have certified DeLuccie as a winner because she was incapacitated by her illness. 

Sara Zorich, a director at the Jackson County Election Board, said the city will have to decide how to proceed.