Southport mayor says he won't resign

SOUTHPORT, Ind. (WISH) - There's a power struggle under way in Southport where the city council has asked the Mayor to resign, a demand that will be repeated at a city council meeting Monday night.

Mayor Rob Thoman will be asked to step down as part of an ongoing battle that escalated in the last week with the disclosure that the mayor has a criminal record.

Thoman faced embezzlement and bribery charges before becoming the subject of impeachment and removal as student body president at a Colorado university in the early 1980's.

It is ammunition for city council members who have long been at odds with the Mayor.

"The city of Southport is behind us,” said council member Jim Cooney. "They want us to take action. They want us to get control of the government."

Council member Susan Schmoll said, "We daily get calls asking us what can we do to get rid of him?"

Thoman has been under fire for eliminating the police department and for a controversy surrounding prayer at city council meetings.

Now, his handling of city finances is being questioned.

"We no longer see any of the bills," said Cooney. "He takes those to the board of public works, has them ok it, so we have no idea what's in the checkbook at all. We suspect nothing."

Meantime, the Colorado charges were reduced to misdemeanors and his removal is not required by law but council members promise to seek a state investigation next.

Schmoll said, "The town's becoming a joke and we can't get anything done."

24-Hour News 8 asked Thoman about the push for his resignation.

He said, “I have absolutely no intention of resigning. To be quite frank with you, they have asked me to resign before and I've asked them or I've suggested that they resign, this isn't anything new. Four, 5, 8 months ago, we went through this same kind of struggle and I thought we were making progress. I thought we were making positive steps. But this is a pretty big step backward. I hope we get passed it. If we don't, the city will survive."

Thoman is not quite halfway into his first term. He said he probably wouldn’t run for a second term.