BEDFORD, Texas — In an emotional speech to city council on Tuesday, Bedford Mayor Michael Boyter abruptly resigned from his position in the Fort Worth suburb's city government.
His resignation, a statement on the Tarrant County city's website confirms, went into effect on Wednesday. He had eight months left to serve in his term.
In his remarks to council, Boyter cited the council's recent approval of the city's 2023-2024 budget and said it was "a good time for me to step aside and let others pick up the mantle from here."
Boyter was elected Bedford's mayor in a November 2019 after his predecessor, Jim Griffin, resigned from the post so he could run for an open seat representing District 92 in the Texas House of Representatives. (Griffin lost in the Republican primary election for that seat.) In 2021, Boyter was reelected to a three-year term.
He previously served on Bedford's council from 2012 to 2015, then was appointed to fill another vacant seat on the council in 2017.
While sharing to council his intentions to retire, Boyter was visibly and audibly emotional.
"We now have a council that works together, rather than against each other, to fix problems," he said, choking up and fighting back tears. "It used to pain me to hear people outside of Bedford make fun of our poor streets, our personnel and departmental issues and the discord between our elected officials and city officials. No more. No city around us can hold a candle to what we've accomplished in just a few short years. It truly has been an honor to be your mayor during the last four years."
Bedford's city council said it will work with the city attorney to determine the next steps to take, and said it will share more information about how Boyter's replacement will be selected once that determination has been made.