Resident publicly defends County Administrator April Wharton amid criticisms

Aubrey Lumblade, who said she grew up in Seward County and identified herself as the daughter of County Administrator April Wharton, used her public comment time Aug. 3 to defend Wharton’s record of county service and to challenge those airing criticisms on social media. "She has not made these corrections on platforms that continue to criticize her and there therefore, these platforms decide to inform the public that she continues to make false statements with no corrective action. This makes their statements false," Lumblade said.

Lumblade recounted Wharton’s decades of service and long hours, saying Wharton had worked “countless overtime hours for the county” and had handled open-records requests and emergency coordination. She urged a critic named Earl Watt to address the commission in person and defended several commissioners who she said had supported Wharton, while faulting what she described as targeted attacks by a newly elected commissioner. Lumblade’s remarks were delivered during the meeting’s public comment period; the commission did not take immediate formal action in response.