‘We are working on every situation.’ Mayor breaks silence after every police officer quits

By Hannah McDonald

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    ALEXANDRIA, Tennessee (WTVF) — On Tuesday, we reported that every police officer in Alexandria quit.

By midday on Wednesday, it was one of our most read stories.

In my three visits to the area, I was not able to get Mayor Beth Tripp to talk on camera.

In the short 27 days since she was elected mayor of Alexandria, all three police officers quit, and people’s frustration with the quality of the drinking water boiled over.

When she said she could be available on Wednesday, I jumped at the chance to ask about the problems in the small DeKalb County town.

“We are working on every situation. Every day is something new and something different, but I’m working my hardest to get them all fixed,” Mayor Beth Tripp said.

Tripp was the only candidate on the August 1 ballot for mayor. There were two write-in campaigns. She won after getting 88 votes.

Tripp wasn’t expecting so much criticism right out of the gate.

“You’re going to get that in politics — that’s nothing new. But I didn’t figure it would be this bad. To keep on attacking me for no reason, when I’m only trying to do my job?” Tripp said.

During an interview with Alexandria’s former police chief Travis Bryant, he said he left his post because working with the new administration was impossible. Mayor Tripp wanted to respond to his comments about her micromanaging matters.

“I didn’t micromanage anything. All I asked… We had residents and it was a concern to me because my residents were reaching out, they were saying several kids almost got hit on Locust Street cause someone was speeding,” she said.

She also addressed the rumor that she wants rid of the local police department.

“I don’t understand that one, because I was asking them to do their job. So, if I was asking them to do their job, does that sound like I was going to give [police responsibilities] to the county?” she said.

Tripp says she’s been following the charter, and that might not have always been done in Alexandria in the past.

“Things were neglected,” she said.

Applications for the police department are available through the town’s website. Anyone hired will also have to be approved by the Board of Alderman.

Regarding the problems with the drinking water, Tripp said they went with a water bid from Rich Potter because he presented a plan to address the discoloration and his price was affordable.

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