Manley Felt Insulted: Not Moving Out Of City, "I Just Said That To Make It Easy On Everyone."

Wes Johnson of the SN-L filed this report on his conversation with Ralph Manley:

Former Councilman Ralph Manley explained further this morning why he abruptly resigned his council seat Monday night.Manley said he felt his colleagues didn’t respect the many hours of service he put in during his 10 years on council.

And he said he felt “insulted” that two councilmen with bankruptcies in their past would get more support as candidates for mayor pro tem than he did.

Manley also revealed that he has no plans to move outside the city, despite a resignation letter that indicated that was another reason for his departure.

“I’m not moving out of the city,” Manley said. “I just said that to make it easy on everyone. I’m here by myself in the house I’ve lived in for 25 years. I’m not going to leave.”

Manley said he was planning to resign even before the mayor pro tem vote Monday night. But he quit abruptly at the end of the meeting in part because he only got one vote of support - from Councilman John Rush - to serve as mayor pro tem.

“It just kind of insulted me that those two other people (Councilmen Dan Chiles and Doug Burlison) with bankruptcies would get more support than me,” Manley said. “I’ve been a successful businessman for 50 years, and then to have a bunch of neophytes and beginners support two with bankruptcies, it just insulted me.”