BYHALIA, Miss. (WREG) — A day after Byhalia, Mississippi Mayor Bill Dawson unexpectedly announced his resignation, some are raising questions about the reason behind his departure.
Dawson, who announced his resignation after Tuesday night’s Town Hall meeting, said he is stepping down because of his health and the health of his wife.
But some believe it could be related to accusations that the mayor made racially insensitive comments that were allegedly overheard by a Town Hall clerk.
The accusations, posted on social media, claimed Dawson told a white woman who’d planned on leaving her position not to pull applications from African American women.
“He did not want a black secretary in this office and it’s very disturbing to me,” said Bud Richmond with the Marshall County NAACP.
Richmond said there are even stronger accusations claiming Mayor Dawson wanted fashion magazines like “Ebony” removed from the lobby of Town Hall during Black History Month.
“He said, ‘because I’m not going to walk through here for the rest of the month looking at these black nappy headed women on these front pages,’” Richmond said.
The woman who made the accusations was scheduled to appear at Tuesday’s regular board meeting at Byhalia’s Town Hall, but to the surprise of a packed boardroom, the meeting moved into executive session and was closed to the public.
But when the Mayor finally emerged, he announced health issues as his reason for resigning.
“We were thinking he was gonna make a statement giving the town, the citizens an apology from the comments they say was made on social media,” said Antjuan Lester with Marshall County NAACP.
The accusations against the mayor shocked resident John Wayne.
“I campaigned for him, helped to get him in office and I think made a good mayor,” Wayne said. “I’ve never known him to say anything bad about anybody.”
Debby Tuttle Weathers, president of Planning and Zoning for Byhalia, said she believes the mayor resigned for health reasons.
“I truly believe he has made a very hard decision to put his family first,” Weathers said. “There were some racial slur accusations made. I cannot personally speak to or attest to that happening. I was not present.”
Dawson tendered his resignation Wednesday. Alderman William Rose is now Vice Mayor Pro-Tem.
The NAACP did not lay out a specific plan of action regarding the accusations.
We tried to talk to the woman who made the accusations but she did not want to comment.
The minutes from the board meeting were not available.
