A shouting match erupted Thursday night at a City Council meeting as some DeBary residents called on Mayor Clint Johnson to step down or be removed from office.

City Councilman Rick Dwyer said Johnson, 29, went too far when he criticized Team Volusia, a countywide economic development organization, when he told the group during a meeting that he "just doesn't give a damn anymore."

Even some members of the public called for Johnson to be punished.

"At the very minimum, he should be censured," said Patricia Stevenson, a DeBary resident.

"I'll do everything in my power to have you removed as mayor," one woman told Johnson before leaving the public meeting Thursday.

Johnson explained he was frustrated with the slow pace of government and that job growth has not been as fast as he thinks it should be.

"I got fed up with how slow government goes," Johnson said Thursday night. "I think everyone's fed up with how government is so slow, so inefficient."

One council member did moved to censure Johnson, but no one seconded the motion, so the motion did not move forward.

 

An earlier published version of this story said Councilman Dwyer had criticized Team Volusia. This has been corrected to clarify it was Mayor Johnson who made the original comments criticizing the group, and Dwyer was addressing those comments at Thursday's meeting.