“There have been a lot of big life changes in my life in the last five months,” Reynolds told the Springfield News-Sun. “I’ll be moving here shortly.”
He would have been up for reelection in November. His last day as Mayor will be May 31. New Carlisle Vice Mayor William Lindsey will become acting mayor. It is unclear right now how a replacement for Reynolds will be picked.
The council could move forward and select a replacement after interviews and a vote. Or, the council could decide to not appoint a replacement and wait until the November election. If city council does pick a person, that person will have to run again in November regardless.
The news comes on the heels of Becky McKenzie being certified as the winner of the May special election. McKenzie beat her opponent, Amy Hopkins, by seven votes, according to the Clark County Board of Elections office.
Hopkins still has four days to decide if she will ask for a recount in that election. If not, McKenzie will be sworn onto council in June. The two began their run for council back in July after council member Aaron Leighty moved out of the city and had to resign his position.
Reynolds resignation means it is possible the council won’t have a full seven members for an entire year.
Reynolds said he became the youngest person to serve on the council when he was elected onto the board at the age of 19. He said he was proud to serve the New Carlisle community.
“The city was nearing fiscal collapse when I started,” he said. “We were borrowing money and no one was speaking for the average citizen. Council was a bunch of ‘yes men’ at the time.”
He said through conservative values, he was able to improve the city.
“Everyone can see where their tax dollars are at work,” he said. “We bought fireworks back, we are fixing roads in this city. We are in a better state today than we were in 7½ years ago.”
Reynolds also says he was the youngest mayor in the city’s history. The beginning of his tenure as mayor was not without controversy. He and Lindsey were accused of collusion when new councilmembers voted to make Reynolds mayor and Lindsey vice mayor.
The move unseated Mike Lowery from mayor position.
Leighty and Lowery then in June moved to remove Lindsey and Lowery after several accusations were made — including that Reynolds failed to file paperwork in connection with his taxes. Those motions eventually were withdrawn by Lowery after lawyers got involved.
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