Seadrift Mayor Lori Thomas submits letter of resignation

Seadrift Mayor Lori Thomas posted a letter of resignation from her position effective Aug. 28, stating that she is leaving office.

In her resignation letter, which she shared on her official Facebook page and verified the authenticity of, Thomas stated that she is resigning due to medical reasons as well as additional stress suffered while in the position. Thomas was sworn in as mayor May 14, following former Seadrift Mayor Jesse Hubbell, who resigned on July 30, 2024 after three months in office.

“I have been in the hospital for the last several days. Since May 15, I have been called names, spied on, lied to, set up, recorded, attacked verbally in council meetings and city hall by certain council members. I had to file two harassment charges through the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office for harassment since May,” Thomas wrote.

In her letter and accompanying post, Thomas stated she was disappointed with what she was able to accomplish.

“I have not accomplished anything that I wanted to do as mayor because I have not been able to be mayor since my swearing in. I have had to do the city secretary’s job, that was not up to date, voluntarily, for months, but I do not foresee this stopping, and I am more important than this hostile environment,” Thomas wrote.

Thomas also stated that she was thankful to the public workers and law enforcement officers currently employed by the city.

“The only reason this city is still running is because of the ladies in that office, and our employees [in] trash, water, sewer/roads [and] harbor. The police [department] is self-sufficient thanks to the chief and her employees,” Thomas wrote. “They are all the backbone of this city. Just remember that when you have to deal with them, tell them thank you because they deserve it. Not only do they have to deal with the public, they have to deal with the council consistently questioning their knowledge and expertise. I am disappointed that I could not get done what I wanted to do.”

In a statement from Seadrift City Hall, a special meeting will be held Sept. 2 in response to Thomas’ resignation.