VERGENNES — Michael Daniels on Thursday resigned as mayor of Vergennes.
Daniels, 70, defeated incumbent Bill Benton by just a few votes 11 months ago. It was his third stint as mayor.
But he said in a resignation letter supplied by City Manager Mel Hawley that he felt he had been unable to work with the city council.
“From day one this has been an uphill battle with this council,” Daniels wrote, adding that he would not “no longer be a puppet.”
The resignation letter pointed to than handling of a complaint by a city business owner against City Manager Mel Hawley and City Clerk Joan Devine as an example of his frustration with the council.
The city charter stipulates that the senior alderman will take over the position when the mayor leaves before their term is up. Renny Perry, a one-time city manager of Vergennes, is currently the senior alderman.
Click on the attachment to read Daniels’ resignation letter.
Look for more on this story in an upcoming story.