Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling released a statement Tuesday saying he will complete his 5 year term as the city’s leader, contradicting reports from August that he offered to resign in January.
According to audio received by the Decatur Daily, the mayor had said he would resign as Mayor in exchange for an end to the demonstrations in his city over the police shooting of Steve Perkins.
“Y’all have been asking for a couple of resignations, including mine,” Bowling said in the recording. “Over the weekend, after some thought — talking with friends of mine and such — I shared with Michael this morning that if the protests at our home would stop, and if the public comment would stop, that the first week of January [2025], I will step down.”
Perkins was fatally shot in his yard when the police arrived to settle a dispute over an attempted vehicle repossession. Perkins threatened a tow truck driver with a gun and later turned a gun on an officer.
RELATED: Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said he’ll step down early if protests stop
In the statement, Bowling said he still has more work to do for the city.
“I plan on completing my term, which is a five (5) year term,” Bowling said in a statement. “The additional year was a decision made by the Alabama Legislature to remove many municipal elections out of the Presidential election cycle. I am very thankful for the support and encouragement I have received from our residents and employees to continue serving our City. We have a tremendous amount of projects in play, plus additional projects that our partners are working on.”
The activists have been demanding for the resignations since Perkins was shot and killed by Decatur Police officers on Sept. 29. Bowling contends that because the audio of the conversation was leaked to the media, he will now remain as mayor until the end of his term.
“The people I talked with, who terrorized my grandchildren, have no desire for peace. They took what I believed to be private discussions to your news partners at The Decatur Daily via recording devices. They knew that would end future discussions. The most disappointing part is our City Council continues to provide a camera and microphone during the Public Comment portion of Council gatherings that is providing no forward progress. This has been clearly conveyed by the majority of our residents who have contacted me in recent days.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11 am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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