How Does It Feel to Be Impeached? These Mayors Can Tell You All About It.

My dad was a city councilor in our small town for most of my childhood. He was recalled and removed after the mayor fired the chief of police under false pretenses and against the city manager. My dad backed the police chief and challenged the mayor to support his false charges against the chief. The mayor and his allies on the council then made up stories about my dad abusing his council privileges, which were totally out of character and patently untrue. They led a campaign to smear and recall him. They succeeded, and he left city politics as they continued to devolve into more small town-developer cronyism. The fired police chief later sued the city successfully for something about being wrongfully terminated, winning a significant settlement. Small town politics can be dirty and corrupt too. There are rules governing behavior. Even in small city governments, the mayor is not an absolute ruler. If Mr Williamson failed to follow the rules to sell a police vehicle, then there are consequences. It sounds like he was unapologetic about it. My guess is it was a good old boy deal that he made, knowing the council would disapprove, so he went around them. With his attitude and his kinship towards Trump, he probably dared them to do something. If he wouldn't acknowledge his wrong-doing, and assure that it won't happen again, what else should the council do but to remove him?

This may be the stupidest article I've ever read in the NYT; my sense of it is a false equivalence between very local elections and what Trump has gotten away with his entire life: Nepotism Lying Grifting Gross incompetence Pollution Racism Illegal emoluments, etc.

"I did something stupid because I didn't know the laws in the town where I am mayor, and as a result I got impeached. Therefore, I support trump." That sums up America's pathetic lack of critical thinking skills in a nutshell. Wow.

Hmm... Mr. Williamson, who according to his local newspaper, "acknowledged he was guilty of both infractions", was "unresponsive to the council’s directives" and waived his right to a hearing and legal counsel. Does this sound like a person who seems likely to "make things better...make America great again"? The fact that 45's predicament "hit home" to Mr. Williamson speaks volumes of both gentlemen. An interesting contrast to the story about Ms. Broderson, who welcomed inquiry and due process- and was reinstated.

So Mr. Williamson acknowledged he didn't follow procedure, just sold police property to 'pay some bills', now feels totally like a victim, just. like. poor. trump. Wow. Now he doesn't even follow city current events; just sits around feeling sorry for himself. My dad got impeached as city manager of a small town, after he voted NOT to fund a stupid huge golf course in a rural town of 400. He got over it and contributed in lots of other ways. When he died, he was commander of his VFW, very involved in civic progress and student scholarships. Quit whining, city council person!

While the country is divided what is prevalent in local communities is one culture rule especially in these small communities. So when the corporate money comes to town or the local finances get upside down the little sleepy towns get a bit wacky. The Nashville situation is a good primer too. While Nashville may have a Mayor and City Council it is the conservative white rural counties super rule State Government that nullifies the local cities with nullification laws as they see fit. Nashville could not even get guns out of city parks. If the ousted Nashville Mayor was a commercial development first kind of gal she’d be starting her second term. That is an added component to ‘witch hunting’ for jay walking offenses.

You missed the big one, the one that really changed the political landscape. It was the "special" election in California to remove Governor Gray Davis from office. The recall and move to a special election was a Republican lead initiative and we ended up with Arnold Schwarzenegger because Democrats were too stupid to see the back door power grab. It is easy to complain about something and stir up populace (with the help of Jay Leno and the Tonight Show) but it is another thing to fix a problem.

It’s called, “follow the rules.” The essence of a great administrator is to get things done, and not break any laws. It seems that elected officials are so focused on keeping their job they lose sight of what their job is. And, it’s frustrating because government jobs are by their nature bureaucratic and slow moving. If you want to make big changes quickly, you have to become a fascist dictator, and in the U.S., you will get impeached for that.

These are minor aberrations of local politics. Mostly, Politics is a corrupt profession. People can be impeached because they may be the only honest politician in town, or impeached because they are the only corrupt politician in town, or impeached because they are neither honest nor corrupt just plain incompetent. These pale in comparison to Trump who is corrupt and incompetent and who has corrupted the Courts, the Republicans in Congress, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and just about any other department you can think of except for, perhaps, the FEC and the Federal Reserve. To say that any one of these people will vote for Trump just because they "feel his pain" , just shows you just how deep his corruption has reached into the electorate.

Bottom line: Politics is a nasty business. If you're not born into it, you probably don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of surviving it.

Sorry, but I don't think these local stories are in any way relatable to the on going investigation into the president. The worldwide, and long lasting damage being done by the current administration, will be felt by millions, for generations to come. Terrible supreme court appointees, environmental terrorism, diplomacy based on extortion, trade and commerce decisions destroying people who worked hard to start and run businesses, and just a complete lack of honesty about anything they touch, is utterly amazing. Even if every elected official in this country were a crook, it still wouldn't have near the impact of Trumps crooked circus.

What strikes me about all these impeached mayors is their sense of entitlement, which they share with Trump. They all still believe they were treated unfairly. Not one believes they deserved their fate. Where does that sense of superiority come from? Why don't they just resign if they're not wanted any longer? They claim to want to help their communities, but then they do the opposite by refusing to admit wrong doing. They claim that they were trying to help their towns, but obviously others felt they weren't. They manufacture feuds and enemies and rivals that "didn't like me." You need a screw lose somewhere to get involved in politics at all, but then to get so puffed up with yourself that you can't admit your faults and mistakes just makes you an arrogant jerk. So, in that respect, they're all like Trump.

Trump doesn’t care about America or helping. He only cares about himself. And he will destroy anyone as our country if it goes against him.

What a great, well-thought out way to vote for President - because there’s a growing sense of kinship. Are you kidding me? That’s why the US is in this mess - decision making based on foolish, uneducated, gut feelings. Or maybe it’s the yellow hair. Oooo, shiny... Think, people! Think!

I am a Democrat and I do not support Donald Trump. The impeachment of our president is such a dark time in our history. Donald was a dishonest person long before he became president. I am proud of Nancy Pelosi because she knows the constitution. It is time to remove this dangerous man from the White House. Our country has laws, if you are a big or small politician and you do not follow the law, you have no place in politics.