WASHINGTON — Charlottesville’s mayor is apologizing for his actions following the “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12.
In particular, Mike Signer apologized for a Facebook post “that impugned the reputations” of City Manager Maurice Jones and police Chief Al Thomas.
“I have taken several actions as mayor, and made several communications, that have been inconsistent with the collaboration required by our system of governance and that overstepped the bounds of my role as mayor,” Signer said in a statement, which was issued after a three-hour closed-door city council meeting Wednesday.
Signer’s Facebook post asserted he’d been largely shut out of security preparations for the rally by white nationalists, neo-Nazis and others.
That rally drew counterprotesters and resulted in one woman’s death. Heather Hyer, 32, was killed when a car plowed into a group protesting the event. James Alex Fields, 20, faces second-degree murder and other charges.
The mayor vowed to work with his colleagues in a more collaborative fashion, “putting the needs of the city and our community first.”
In response, the city council accepted the apology and did not request his resignation.
“We faced this challenge as a city, as leaders within it, and as individuals,” the city council said in a joint statement. “We still face challenges. We acknowledge that people in our community continue to hurt and that we have a long road ahead to address the issue of equity.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
