Mayor of Garland makes his resignation official

GARLAND, Texas - It’s official. The mayor of Garland has resigned.

Mayor Douglas Athas announced his resignation Tuesday night on Facebook. He included a photo of his resignation later.

Mayor Athas first hinted at resigning after the city council voted to tear down an old National Guard armory and replace it with a skate park. He said he could not continue to work with a council that does not listen to its citizens.

“The people said they do not wish to go forward and tear this down. The truth is, we do not have to put a skate park and a dog park precisely right here. There are other open spaces,” he said during the October council meeting. “This deeply saddens me. I don’t feel like we followed the processes. I’m announcing that I will be resigning as mayor in the very near future. I will give you the effective date in the very near future.”

Athas plans to stay in office until his successor in a special May election.