‘I’ve had enough’
Grinder resigns from Norris City Council
Norris Councilman Will Grinder sits at the council table during a recent City Council meeting. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
First elected to the council in 2020 and re-elected in 2022 and 2024, Grinder told The Courier News that he submitted his resignation Oct. 18 in an email to city administrators.
“I’ve had enough,” he said. “I don’t feel like my heart’s in it anymore.”
Assistant City Manager Bailey Whited confirmed that Grinder had submitted his resignation, which Whited said would become official only when the City Council votes to accept it.
Once that happens, which is expected to occur at the council’s next regular meeting, Nov. 10, the remaining four council members will appoint a replacement to serve until the end of Grinder’s current term, in early December 2026 when the next council is sworn in.
Grinder, a building contractor, said he has no plans to move out of Norris, where he has lived since 2018.
His resignation came on the heels of City Manager Adam Ledford’s own decision to resign, handed to the mayor and City Council on Sept. 8.
In a statement sent to The Courier News last week after acknowledging his resignation by phone, Grinder said:
“The City Council as a whole not making an effort to keep Adam [Ledford] as city manager did not help me want to stay. He is and was a real asset, and I believe he really gave 110% effort.
“I believe Bailey [Whited] will be given the opportunity to be the new city manager, and if he gets support and isn’t beaten up, he will also do a good job.
“The reasons for me resigning are complex, for there is no one reason. And the decision has been really hard for me.
“We all need to have a positive attitude in what we do. It’s not fair to the citizens to have a councilperson with less-than-positive reasons to stay. There are some real passionate people that I hope will want to sit in that chair.”
Grinder went on to praise the work the council has done during his five-year tenure.
“The city is in a good place, financially solid,” he said. “A lot of grant money has been obtained and is being used in the appropriate ways. There are a lot of really positive things that have been done here in Norris in the past five years.
“And there is a whole lot being done now, a lot,” Grinder said. “We are in a way-better place now than we were five years ago. I was a small part of what has been accomplished.
“I hope that there are more conversations on keeping a more-motivated city of Norris workforce,” he said.
“The best way to do that is to ensure their pay is enough for what their job is. All the different departments are really doing a great job with barely enough staff,” Grinder said.
“My hat is off to each and every person who works for the citizens of Norris. Our employees really care about what they do. I appreciate each and every one.”
Besides Mayor Chris Mitchell, the other council members are Loretta Painter, Charles P. “Chuck” Nicholson, and William “Bill” Grieve.
Ledford’s resignation as city manager is effective Jan. 1.
The council has indicated that is expects to elevate his assistant, Whited to that post.
During the Sept. 8 meeting, the council voted to eliminate the assistant’s position as of Jan. 1.