“Today is not a day of joy or release, but rather one of unremitting pain,” wrote Dawson in an e-mail to The Press. “I have resigned my office as a Director for the Town of Discovery Bay. I have sought to protect the district from the costs of a recall and to protect my family from the pain it would bring. Thank you to anyone who supported me over the last couple of months, I will never be able to repay you. It has truly been a pleasure to serve this community and I wish it the best as it moves forward.”
Dawson delivered his resignation to General Manager Rick Howard at 9:35 a.m. The move follows months of contention on both sides of an effort to recall Dawson following his arrest for spousal battery and child endangerment in August. Residents spearheading the effort to recall Dawson were required to file the 1,649 signatures with the county elections department by today.
“I’m sorry for the whole affair,” said CSD Director Kevin Graves. “I don’t think there were any winners here, and I believe that Brian did the right thing because he didn’t incur the unnecessary and expensive costs of a recall election.”
The CSD board has the option of filling the vacancy by either appointing a new director or holding a special election.
According to Government Code, should the board choose to appointment a replacement, it must do so within 60 days of the director’s resignation. The notice of vacancy must be posted in at least three conspicuous places in town for a minimum of 15 days prior to the appointment.
Both the proponents and opponents had strong feelings about the recall, but it is time to put that behind us.
While collecting signatures during the recall drive I was reminded of how fantastic that the people of Discovery Bay are. We are truly fortunate to live in such a wonderful community and I know that everyone will rally and pray for Brian and his family to move forward as successfully and privately as possible.
I have spoken with Brian and thanked him for taking this step, and I wish nothing but the best for him and his family.
Don Flint
I only hope that the CSD decides to appoint someone who will do at least a good of a job for our community as Mr. Dawson. Certainly I hope that the directors are wise enough not to appoint anyone supported by Don Flint, who has done so much more damage to our community than Mr. Dawson could ever have done.
I also wonder, now that Mr. Dawson has stepped down, who will be next in Flint's cross-hairs. As badly as I feel for Mr. Dawson, I can't help but also feel badly for the remaining CSD Directors. Because there will definitely be a new target...In our community, there always is.