Councilmen question mayor's leadership, effectiveness

May 8—A Decatur City Council majority questioned Monday whether Mayor Tab Bowling is doing his job and providing the leadership the city needs, but the mayor on Tuesday said he's still working hard.

Their statements came in the City Council meeting after Bowling listened briefly to public comments and then walked out again as the line of speakers continued to question officials about the Sept. 29 shooting death of Steve Perkins by a Decatur police officer and the city's response to it.

The City Council also approved two new ordinances. The first is a historic change that now allows bars in downtown Decatur.

The other is an ordinance stemming from the Perkins incident. It requires tow truck drivers to notify the Police Department if they plan to repossess a vehicle. The new city law does not stop nighttime repossessions, a key demand for some Perkins supporters.

Council President Jacob Ladner and Councilmen Billy Jackson and Kyle Pike were particularly critical of Bowling when questioned by Rodney Gordon, president of the Morgan County branch of the NAACP.

Ladner made the strongest comments, especially following Bowling's decision to skip the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce's annual State of the City breakfast last week.

Bowling said he chose not to attend the State of the City because chamber officials included a welcome video by Ladner, who was away on business and missed the breakfast. The video referenced the city's challenges in the aftermath of Perkins' death.

Ladner said the mayor's primary responsibility is running the operations of the city while also serving as the top elected official.

"He's supposed to be a leader," Ladner said. "But there's definitely been a void of leadership in the last seven months."

Pike, who stepped in and handled the State of the City presentation with Councilman Carlton McMasters, said Bowling should have been there on April 30.

"I was honored to be there, but that is something he as mayor should do," Pike said. "It sent a bad signal to the businesses and the community. I think he does need to reassess his role and his willingness to do his job."

Ladner said he's been "getting hammered with emails" from people urging him to stop public comment at council meetings, but he does not intend to do so. Bowling has voiced his displeasure about the repeated negative public comment periods at council meetings. In January, he began leaving the meetings before or during the public comment periods. He left again Monday before Gordon quizzed council members about whether Bowling is doing his job and whether he should resign.

"If you're not willing to listen to everybody, if you're not willing to step in the gap when there's a big leadership void and you're not willing to show up for the State of the City, I really question if whether you're still willing to do the job," Ladner said.

"You hear athletes all of the time say, 'When I felt I could no longer do the job, I retired.'"

Pike said he thinks the mayor should stay for public comments, particularly in difficult situations like the aftermath of Perkins' death.

"At a time like this, the city needs a leader," Pike said. "It takes more than one person, and we all know that. In that role (as mayor), you should be willing to pull up a chair, even in disagreements. We know not everybody is going to agree. I think the mayor has shown what he is and what he's not willing to do throughout this process. Personally, I think it's a disservice to citizens."

Jackson called for Bowling's resignation in February and said he's made it clear that he still wants a change at mayor. He also began in October calling for the resignation or firing of Police Chief Todd Pinion.

"The mayor, just like our police chief and his department, sets the culture and our standard of care for the city," Jackson said.

Jackson said they "hold council meetings, not mayor-council meetings," but because of the issues surrounding the Perkins incident, he thinks the mayor "is obligated" to attend the council meetings.

"The fact is, very simply, he should be here," Jackson said.

Jackson said he agrees with statements about Bowling "not doing his job in other aspects. If the mayor is not going to do his job, he should step down."

However, Ladner said he's hesitant to call for the mayor's resignation for two reasons. The first is Ladner, as City Council president, is next in line to become mayor should Bowling resign, but he pointed out that he's "made it clear" he doesn't want to be mayor.

He said the second reason is this is a democracy, and he thinks the best way to make a change is at the ballot box.

"We have bad leaders all across this country," Ladner said. "The way to fix it is when you vote."

Bowling's second term ends in November 2025. After Perkins' death, he announced he would not seek reelection.

McMasters and Councilman Hunter Pepper agreed that, if the mayor's not doing his job, he should resign, but both said they believe Bowling is doing his job.

McMasters said he received a phone call 24 hours before the State of the City informing him that Bowling didn't plan to attend so he and Pike stepped in for the mayor.

McMasters said he didn't want to disparage anyone, but this showed a lack of leadership on Bowling's part.

"Somebody's got to do it," McMasters said of handling the State of the City.

McMasters said Bowling should resign "if he's completely abdicating his job" but he thinks "the mayor is still working. I had a meeting with him (Monday), and a call with him Friday. Tab is still working."

Bowling said he works "seven days a week during most weeks" for the city, and that includes meeting with council members.

"Just because I don't stick around for public comments or I didn't attend the State of the City does not mean that I'm not working," Bowling said. "I'm working very hard, and on some good things — along with them."

Bowling said he's not staying for public comments, and he used Monday night's comments to show why. Ladner had to stop one person who made derogatory comments toward the mayor and city employees. At that point, the mayor chose to leave.

"I'm just not going to stay for that," Bowling said. "I don't want to hear them putting our city employees down. It's not good for anything. Just imagine someone looking to move here and, seeing one of those meetings; I don't think that they're going to want to come."

He added that someone considering working for the city might rethink the idea if they saw a meeting online, and current employees might look for another job elsewhere. City Council meetings are carried live on YouTube.

Bowling said he's willing to meet with anyone who wants to talk with him about a concern in the mayor's office, but "not where there's a camera and microphone, and people are acting like they do at the council meetings. I guess we can respectfully disagree. I think the decision to continue to do (public comments) is something I strongly disagree with and anything that will have a negative impact on our city employees and residents."

Ladner said Wednesday that he believes the city will be OK even if it doesn't get leadership from the mayor's office.

"We have good leaders," Ladner said. "The council is stepping into some of that leadership gap. We've got good people leading city departments. We've got good people in elected positions, and we've got good people across the city who aren't in city government.

"We'll get through it, and we'll be just fine, but we need everybody all-in and on the same page moving us forward."

Pike said he's still optimistic about the city and believes "we will continue to operate like we have. We will continue to implement change and get things done."

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432