DECATUR, Ala. — After a short council session Monday evening, Mayor Tab Bowling gathered his belongings and proceeded to step down from the dais, as he began to leave the city hall before the public comment section of the evening began.
However, he was stopped when District 1 council member Billy Jackson requested he stay, as "I am going to address something that you may want to stay for."
What followed was a nearly seven minute address to Bowling, the council, and assembled citizens, in which Jackson called for the mayor to step down and let someone else take over leadership of the City of Decatur.
Jackson said that Bowling's decision to stop attending public comment was indicative of the mayor's decision last fall to not seek a further term. His current term will end in 2025. That announcement came at a time of particular criticism of Bowling's handling of the Steve Perkins shooting fallout and response.
While Bowling attended several meetings, including public comment, in the months following the shooting, he was not present for several, with reasons ranging from illness to out-of-city trips. During many of the meetings he missed, citizens lambasted Bowling for his attendance and perceived lack of attention and respect to the public. A petition to compel Bowling to resign was also introduced.
Jackson said Bowling's lack of presence amounted to "taking paid retirement" ahead of his scheduled date to vacate office. The councilman then recalled a recent incident in which he and another member attempted to take extra office hours to help citizens with their concerns - not all of them related to the Perkins case. He cited one incident where he attempted to connect a citizen with someone from the sanitation department.
"Later that night, I got a text from Tab" Jackson said, "and it said, 'You should not go directly to the directors regarding means. You are nothing more than a citizen.'"
The statement got an audible gasp from members of the gallery. Jackson said he responded with "three laughing-crying emojis. And then when I sent that, he said, 'You act as though you are a supervisor. You are not a supervisor. I am.' And when he said that, I responded again with three laughing-crying emojis."
"If there is an ounce of integrity, I would ask that your love for the city would allow you to step down and let someone else take that seat," Jackson then said to a round of applause.
Jackson said that he has someone in mind to replace Bowling - District 5 council member and work session chair, Jacob Ladner. Jackson said he felt, by watching Ladner's performance running the meetings especially, that he has the wherewithal to take on the duties of leading the city.
Bowling did not appear to make much comment after Jackson's address, but he once again gathered his belongings and left the council chambers.
The council agenda on Monday included reintroduction of a clarification to current ordinances surrounding parades and demonstrations that was tabled last week. The changes, including quantifying the minimum number of people to be classified as a parade (five), and exemptions for protests, was unanimously approved.