KENNEDALE — In their first meeting since Mayor Bryan Lankhorst tendered his resignation on Saturday, the Kennedale City officially accepted his request Tuesday evening.
"I wouldn't wish that Bryan would resign," said John Clark, a Council member who has now assumed the mayor's post. "He loved being mayor. If you ask to speculate why he would resign, my idea of Bryan is he would put the city first."
Lankhorst is facing allegations of inappropriate behavior while working as a substitute teacher at Miller Elementary School in Arlington.
The alleged incident involved several sixth grade girls.
News 8 spoke with one of the students, who said Lankhorst touched her behind during a game of tag and asked questions about pregnancy.
In a statement, Lankhorst's lawyer said his client categorically denies any impropriety. "We're doing our own investigation," attorney Mark Daniel said. "Any allegation is wholly contrary to his background."
Mayor Clark said when he spoke to Lankhorst on the phone, he said he was doing "not great."
"There's a lot of turmoil, fixing his family. We didn't talk about the facts," Clark said.
The city is now working to fill a vacant council seat as it faces serious budget challenges in what could be a tough transition from Lankhorst, who had just started his fourth term as Kennedale mayor.
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