MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Republican Party Chairman has called upon Drenda Keesee to resign from her elected position as Knox County commissioner.
The Friday afternoon announcement comes following the trial and conviction of her son, Gary Keesee Jr., on 27 counts of sexual abuse, including rape.
“I’m calling upon Commissioner Keesee to resign her elected position immediately,” Knox County GOP Chairman Fred Dailey stated in a press release.
Knox Pages made attempts to contact Drenda Keesee following the announcement Friday afternoon. No responses were received by the time this story was published.
The announcement was emailed to media outlets just hours after the conviction.
The press release states that “sworn testimony from multiple juvenile victims, including Commissioner Keesee’s own daughter, indicate that Drenda Keesee was aware of many of these criminal acts and her son’s sexual proclivities, yet failed to disclose these crimes and abuses to authorities.”
Drenda Keesee was elected to her position in November of 2024. The first allegation of wrongdoing was made to a Knox County Deputy Sheriff in January of 2025.
The press release alleges that Drenda Keesee has missed “many official Commissioner meetings, including 21 so far this year.”
“Overturning the will of the electorate is not a casual request,” Dailey stated. “Commissioner Keesee’s failure to disclose her son’s crimes and her performance as a Commissioner do not reflect the integrity and high standards we expect of our elected officials.”
“I’ve reached the point where I’m going for her resignation. That doesn’t mean she’ll resign but I wash my hands of her.”
FRED DAILEY
Dailey elaborates
Dailey spoke directly to Knox Pages reporters following the conviction.
“It’s my responsibility as a county chairman of elected Republican officials to say enough is enough,” Dailey said. “A year ago I asked her to resign privately and she refused to do so.”
Gary Keesee Jr. was arrested in April 2025.
“Many people asked me to call upon her to resign, but in our system of jurisprudence, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” Dailey said.
During the trial, statements were made by the victims that Drenda Keesee was aware of Gary Keesee Jr.’s crimes and failed to report them.
“That is a big concern to me because we hold our elected officials to a very high standard of ethics and I don’t think she met those standards,” Dailey said.
“In my opinion, she didn’t perform well as a commissioner. The controversy created a lot of extra expenses because of extra security and requests for documents that all had to be reviewed by attorneys.”
The chairman said he waited to comment until he saw sworn statements by the victims that confirmed Drenda Keesee knew about her son’s actions.
“In my opinion, she needs to focus now on her family and we need to get about the business of having a fully staffed county commission with people that work well together,” Dailey said.
“I’ve reached the point where I’m going for her resignation. That doesn’t mean she’ll resign but I wash my hands of her.”
