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Councilmember Susan Watson resigns, criticizes mayor and code‑enforcement practices
Summary
Susan Watson read a resignation letter and used her council time to criticize the mayor's conduct and what she described as "weaponized" code enforcement; she presented figures showing roughly $1.29 million in code enforcement charges from Jan–July 2026 and urged voters to hold leaders accountable at the ballot box.
Councilmember Susan Watson announced her resignation effective Aug. 11, 2026, and used her prepared remarks to criticize the mayor's behavior, recount an audio released by a former police major and describe concerns about how code enforcement has been used in town. Watson said the recording revealed statements she described as overreach and denigration of past leaders and said such conduct risks employee resignations and lawsuits.
Watson provided data she said were drawn from staff records: "From 01/01/2026 to the July 2026, the information that I requested from staff shows that the citizens of Selma were charged with $1,290,000 worth of code enforcement fines." She questioned the size of recent salary increases for a code‑enforcement employee and said residents deserve clearer budget detail. Watson urged citizens to vote for change at the ballot box and told the council she could no longer serve under current processes.
