Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers resigns months after calling for killing of LGTBQ people

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Mark Chambers
Photo Credit: Washingtonpost.com

Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chambers has resigned after months of criticism and controversy. According to WBRC, he submitted his letter to the city clerk. The city scheduled an emergency meeting for July 1st. Greg Andrews will be Mayor Pro Tem. Chambers has been mayor of Carbon Hill since 2014.

In 2019, Chambers faced criticism over a controversial Facebook comment. In response to a post on his Facebook page, Chambers wrote, “The only way to change it would be to kill the problem out. I know it’s bad to say but without killing them out there’s no way to fix it.”

The response is no longer on Facebook. In an interview with WSFA News, Chambers denied writing the comment, but finally admitted he had. He responded that it was meant to be a private conversation between two people and didn’t mean for the post to be made public. He then apologized for the comment. 

Following the controversy, two Carbon Hill council members resigned. During that July 2019 council meeting, Chambers refused to step down and discussed plans to run for re-election.

An online petition asking for his resignation states, “LGBTQ people live in every community across the state–rural, urban, and suburban. This is our state, but those aren’t our values. No person who threatens community members with violence should be permitted to hold office in Alabama. Therefore, we demand Mayor Chambers resign and that city officials take active steps to protect LGBTQ residents.”

Currently, the petition has over 700 signatures.