Williamson interim mayor resignation accepted, city clerk to serve as de facto mayor again

WILLIAMSON, WV (WOWK) — The Williamson City Council accepted the resignation of Interim Mayor Joseph Bucci, and City Clerk Alma Smith will serve as de facto mayor for a second time.

This happened during an emergency city council meeting on Friday morning.

Bucci submitted his resignation effective immediately on Tuesday, according to Williamson City Attorney Nathan Brown, three months after he was appointed to that position.

Now that Bucci has resigned and the city council accepted his resignation, it falls back to Smith to serve as de facto mayor. An interim has not been named.

Also at Friday’s meeting, Councilman Charles Ray’s resignation was accepted. Bill Burgett will fill that role.

This all started after former Mayor Charles Hatfield resigned back in May. That resignation came as Hatfield stands accused of stealing federal funds while he was chief executive of Williamson Memorial Hospital from September 2018 to September 2019, according to federal court documents. He pleaded guilty on May 30, according to the U.S. Department of Justice .

Smith was put in charge of the city because a majority could not be reached. A couple of days later, City Attorney Brown said Bucci would serve as interim mayor.

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