Stevensville Town Councilmember Raymond Smith has tendered his resignation following an incident over which he was cited for disorderly conduct.
According to Stevensville Police Chief James Marble, a citation for disorderly conduct was issued last Friday, October 5, to Stevensville Town Councilmember Raymond Smith following an incident that occurred during the High School Homecoming Parade. Marble refused to discuss the matter and suggested that a copy of the citation containing information about the incident could be obtained from the court. The Bitterroot Star has yet to get a copy as the Town Hall was closed over the weekend and Monday was Columbus Day.
Smith did not answer a phone message left by the newspaper seeking information about the incident.
Mayor Brandon Dewey said that he knew something about the incident. He said that he and Smith had a normal conversation on Thursday about town business in the course of which Smith mentioned some concerns he had about the police department.
“I felt it was important to talk to the Chief of Police about those concerns and I believe that is what Mr. Smith got angry about,” said Dewey. He said that during the parade he got a call from Smith who was screaming profanities at him over the phone. Afterward he got a call from Marble in which the Chief stated that Smith was yelling profanities at him and conducting himself in a disorderly way during the parade.
“He just wanted me to know what had occurred and then went back to controlling traffic,” said Dewey.
Dewey said that he did receive a call from Smith stating that he intended to resign from the Town Council. But then he received a call from the Town’s attorney and was told that Smith had reconsidered and was not going to resign.
Finally, however, a letter of resignation was submitted:
“To Council President & Fellow Council Members,
I had a conversation with the Mayor which I requested be kept confidential. When I approached Chief Marble to just say hello. He responded with “I have nothing to say to you ever again” At which point I knew the Mayor had betrayed my conversation. Or the Chief is upset with me on a personal level, for decision I have made while on council with regard to the police department. Either way I felt attacked.
“I responded in an unprofessional manner, my emotions of months of back stabbing by our Mayor, with the continual comments of hostile work environment, because I am against his request for a wage increase and his attacks on us as a council member came out. I have lost all faith to ever be able to work with either in a positive manner moving forward. I don’t wish to bring anymore bad light to the council and or the town. I am sorry to each and every member of our community, that is not who I am and they know this.
“We all have our breaking point and I reached mine. I have been told there is no law requiring me to resign, but I feel it would be best for me to resign my council position effective immediately. I see no way to repair any trust with our Mayor and it’s not fair to the people of Stevensville. With that being said, consider this my resignation letter from my position. I wish to thank everyone for the support and hope you will continue to fight the good fight for our community.”
“Sincerely,
Raymond Smith”
The Mayor said about the letter, “I appreciate Ray’s respect for his position and his acknowledgement that his actions did not represent the community. I somewhat expected it. I look forward to finding someone that can work with both myself and the Council and fill that position.”
“It’s bothering that Mr. Smith feels I violated his trust,” said Dewey. “He shared concerns with me about the Police Department and I felt it was my role to address those concerns with the Chief of Police. Mr Smith’s resignation is unfortunate, but I empathize with him and the circumstances surrounding it combined with the current climate between the Council and Mayor.”
According to Dewey, the Council has thirty days to fill the vacancy.
The process now is to advertise for the position. Applicants must be residents of Ward 2 which is the area south of Central and Fifth streets. The Council will then appoint a replacement who will serve out the rest of Smith’s term which was a three-year term with a little over two years remaining.