Springfield mayor resigns

At the end of last night's contentious, three-hour Springfield City Council meeting, Mayor Jim O’Neal resigned from his post effective immediately.

In his reasoning, O'Neal cited obligations from his personal and professional lives.

“I have tried to do the best I can, ... [but] I have fallen short, I haven't been giving what I should give and I haven't been fulfilling the job as it should be fulfilled,” said O’Neal, president and CEO of Springfield-based O&S Trucking.

O’Neal said he has missed several council meetings recently due to business and family commitments, and felt he couldn’t continue in the post.

“I don’t feel like I have any other options,” O’Neal said, adding that he was honored to have the opportunity to represent citizens and serve with his fellow council members.

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Stephens today will be sworn in as mayor at a special noon council meeting.

The announcement came after some heated debate about proposed amendments to the city’s smoking ban, which ultimately passed unanimously (See box).

“My decision has nothing to do with the events of this evening,” O'Neal told a sparse crowd of around 30, including city staff, who had largely disbanded after the smoking-amendment vote.

O’Neal was elected in 2009, and then re-elected as mayor in April 2011. Stephens will serve as mayor through the end of O’Neal’s term in April 2013. Council will replace Stephens’ General A seat in the coming weeks, according to City Manager Greg Burris. In February, Councilman Jeff Seifried was selected to replace Zone 1 Councilman Nick Ibarra, who resigned in January.

In that selection process, nine candidates applied for the job before council narrowed the field to three. A meeting was then held where each finalist was brought before council to answer a series of questions related to the position. It took about eight weeks from the time Ibarra resigned until Seifried was sworn in.

O’Neal, who served as a general councilman 1987-1994, started O&S Trucking 28 years ago, according to SpringfieldMo.gov. Today, the company is a full-service truckload carrier which boasts a tractor fleet of more than 300 tractors and 450 trailers.