LIND, Wash. — It was a tense situation Tuesday night after the Lind City Council voted to remove the town's mayor from her position.
It was even more tense when she showed up for work the next day.
During its regular town council meeting Tuesday night, council members voted 3-0 to remove Mayor Paula Bell from her position, stating she allegedly violated her oath of office and refuses to perform her mayoral duties. When she came to work on Wednesday morning, the sheriff's office was called, but the responding deputies stated Bell was still the town's mayor.
The town of Lind has a population of slightly more than 500 people, and for the past six years, Bell has been the town's mayor. On Tuesday, the city council sought to change that, voting to remove Bell from her position. Councilmember Robert Dew claimed Bell doesn't take care of the sewers or streets and takes out unnecessary loans.
"The alleyways in the streets should be graveled, they're not," Dew said during Tuesday's meeting. "The weeds aren't sprayed which infests people's gardens. The town don't want you, the council don't want you."
Despite the tense meeting Tuesday night, Bell came to work as usual on Wednesday morning. Town council members called the Adam's County Sheriff's Office to remove her, but responding deputies told them the sheriff's legal council said Bell was still the mayor.
"I still stand by it," Dew said. "I think the police were wrong. And I don't recognize her as mayor as far as I'm concerned."
Bell questioned the council's motion to vacate her sat during Tuesday's meeting, stating she doesn't know the legalities of the council's motion.
"I think that, to protect the town, that it needs to be talked about with the town attorney," she said.
Bell chose not to comment further on the council's motion.
Councilmember Jim Weirdemann claimed the mayor hasn't done enough for the city, adding many people in Lind agree with him.
"More than half the community supports the way that council is running now, he claimed.
At this time, Bell is still conducting her normal duties. Some of the Lind councilmembers said they are meeting with their own legal council and hope Bell is no longer mayor by the time they hold their next city council meeting, which is less than two weeks away.
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