Charlottesville Mayor Signer Apologizes

From left to right: Councilors Bob Fenwick and Kristin Szakos, Mayor Mike Signer, and Councilors Kathy Galvin
and Wes Bellamy. The held a brief press conference after hours of a closed session meeting discussing
"the discipline of a City official." / Photo: Marguerite Gallorini

Charlottesville City Council members met behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon, and afterward Mayor Mike Signer apologized.  WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini has more.

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City Council called for a special meeting regarding the “performance and discipline of an elected official” on Wednesday. This followed a controversial Facebook post by Mayor Mike Signer pointing fingers at City Manager Maurice Jones and Chief of Police Al Thomas on the organization of the alt-right rally. It was later confirmed that the Mayor was at the heart of this closed session when, after more than 3 hours, he came out and read a public apology.

MIKE SIGNER: In the deeply troubling and traumatizing recent weeks, I have taken several actions as mayor and made several communications that have been inconsistent with the collaboration required by our system of governance, and that overstepped the bounds of my role as mayor - for which I apologize to my colleagues and the people of Charlottesville. I will be committing to the following four protocols through the rest of the year:

- I will meet with senior staff only with another councilor present;
- I will be more mindful of the time of the Council Clerk and the Assisting Clerk;
- I will work with my colleagues to insure the council meetings going forward reflect shared leadership;
- and I will not make public pronouncements or announcements as Mayor without working with my colleagues.

City Council members accepted his apology, and affirmed their support. But the Mayor will have a diminished part during the last 4 months of his term.

This story appeared on WMRA News.