CLEARWATER, Fla. — The city of Clearwater will soon have an interim mayor after a sudden resignation was given during a Monday morning meeting.
The now-former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard started off the announcement by saying, "This is probably one of the toughest things I’ve ever done in my entire life but I know it’s right because I’m not a quitter."
"But I’m not the right leader for this council anymore...," he said.
Hibbard went on to explain his concern with where the city is going while also continuing to state that he's not the right person for the position.
'This is simple math, and we’re not doing very well on the test," the now-former mayor said.
While explaining his decision, Hibbard also recommended that City Council member Hoyt Hamilton be appointed as interim mayor.
"I know this is shocking but I just…I’m the wrong guy right now," he said. "It’s been more and more obvious to me that as much as I love this city and as much as I want to stick around for some of the things that are going to occur over the next several months, I simply am not the right person to be here anymore."
After announcing his resignation, Hibbard went on to thank the council members, wishing them the best and saying he never lost faith in the staff.
"We always have bumps in the road and, as people say, 'If it weren’t for people, everything would be easy,'" the now-former mayor said. "So thank you all and God bless you and this city.
"I wish you all the best. Thank you all for what you’ve been to me.”
Hibbard then grabbed his belongings and walked out of the meeting before the vice mayor called for a 10-minute recess.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to the now-former mayor who said this decision had been building, and he finally decided that he wasn't the right person to lead.
He went on to say he's always been fiscally responsible, and the decisions that the council was making are not aligned.
"This isn't that big of a deal, they'll move along," Hibbard told 10 Tampa Bay.
The re-election for the mayor's position is in March 2024, which Hibbard said he was not planning to run for.
"There's no graft or anything else," he said. "It was a 4 to 1 vote forward with what I believe is reckless spending."
According to Hibbard's bio on the city of Clearwater's website, he has lived in the city since 1979. After serving two times as mayor in the previous years, he was elected again in 2020.
Watch the full announcement in the meeting below.