Missouri City Employees Resign After Election of First African-American Female Mayor

A small city of 700 people in Missouri elected their first African-American woman mayor, but not everybody was happy.

Just as Tyrus Byrd, 40, was sworn last April 14 as the new mayor of the City of Parma after unseating Mayor Randall Ramsey by 37 votes, 11 city employees resigned. Ramsey had served as local chief executive for 37 years.

Among the 11 who quit were five of the city's six police officers, according to KFVS. Ramsey said the city clerk and waste water treatment plant supervisor also resigned citing "safety concerns."

The resignations bewildered Byrd.

"I don't understand," she said. "I never said anything about cleaning house."

Nelvia Donaldson, an African-American who was elected alderman, said the resignations were about race and gender, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.

"I think it's about being a woman and being black. He (former Mayor Randall Ramsey) thought he had it in the bag," she said.

Byrd was a stay-at-home mom who grew up in Parma and became the city clerk for eight years. She went on to work in Indiana but moved back to Parma in 2012 to care for her ailing father.

She said she decided to run for mayor after hearing complaints about the police and the management of the city.

"I would hear things from the residents. Everybody knows everybody," Byrd said.

She added, "The residents wanted to build trust again and work with the city officials to bring this city back together."

During the election held last April 7, Byrd got 122 votes against Ramsey's 84.

She narrated that when she went to the city hall a week later, she said hello to the mayor and city employees but was met with silence.

Before she was sworn into office, a local TV reporter asked her if she knew that city employees had resigned from their jobs.

She was told that they did it for "safety reasons."

"Am I the safety issue?" Byrd asked.