Jerry Slusiewicz resigned as mayor less than 20 minutes into a special meeting Monday, Aug. 14 where the City Council was to discuss whether to remove him as mayor.

“A few moments ago I resigned as mayor because I could not in good conscience preside over a phony proceeding convened in the name of Laguna Niguel taxpayers,” Slusiewicz said in a statement after he walked out of the council meeting.

“To put it bluntly,” Slusiewicz continued in his statement, “my colleagues do not want me as the mayor, and I cannot lead a body suffering from the great disability of indifference.”

Slusiewicz, who has served on the council since 2012, will remain on the council. His term expires in 2020.

City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz walks away from the council chamber after announcing his resignation during a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz walks away from the council chamber after announcing his resignation during a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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City of Laguna Niguel holds a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Laguna Niguel city council waits for Mayor Pro Tem Fred Minagar to accept the role as a mayor after Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz left the council chamber after announcing his resignation during a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Pro Tem Fred Minagar accepts his role as the new mayor after mayor Jerry Slusiewicz announced his resignation during a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)



City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz talks to the reporters after announcing his resignation outside of the City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz reads his statement to the reporters after announcing his resignation outside of the City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

City of Laguna Niguel Mayor Jerry Slusiewicz walks away from the council chamber after announcing his resignation during a special council meeting at City Hall in Laguna Niguel on Monday, August 14, 2017.(Photo by Kyusung Gong, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Mayor Pro Tem Fred Minagar, elected to the council in 2014, is expected to be sworn in as mayor as early as Aug. 15.

Since late July, Slusiewicz has been accused of bullying city employees and administrators in addition to demanding a discount on carpet at a Laguna Niguel store because of his city position and threatening the director of a community theater to get his daughter a part in a play.

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Slusiewicz has denied the theater claim. He also said an altercation at the carpet store over a price change happened before he was a councilman.

Slusiewicz has said the moves for his ouster stem from efforts by the council and city staff to protect former City Manager Rod Foster, whom he claims is responsible for more than $410,000 in overpayments to city contractor West Coast Arborists.

Before Slusiewicz resigned as mayor, the council unanimously approved a resolution saying the mayor and mayor pro tem could be removed by a majority council vote with or without cause.

Before the vote, Slusiewicz commented on the resolution.

“I think it’s a worthy policy discussion for us to have as a council,” Slusiewicz said. “My question for my colleagues is whether we would also be wise to include safeguards so a sitting mayor is not removed willy-nilly every time the political winds shift.”

The resolution also said in the event a mayor is removed or resigns, the mayor pro tem would become mayor and would serve until the council picks a successor.

Moments after the resolution was approved, Slusiewicz announced his resignation.

“If I don’t step down as mayor, it legitimizes this hasty sham removal process and may have the legal consequence of ratifying prior Brown Act violations, thereby allowing certain decisions to avoid public scrutiny,” Slusiewicz said to a crowd of about 100 people.

Slusiewicz then left the council dais as a few audience members clapped.

Outside City Hall, Slusiewicz alleged the city manager and city attorney launched a “$25,000 secret investigation into my personal affairs” on July 17.

“The investigation has revealed zero findings against me,” Slusiewicz said in a statement.

City officials have said the allegations against Slusiewicz are being investigated by the city attorney and outside counsel. The investigation could take between four and six months, they said.

Slusiewicz said in his statement that his first action as a councilman will be to demand an expanded audit into the city’s purchasing protocols. He has also recommended the arborist contract and related documents be sent to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for investigation.

Independent auditors are expected to present their findings on the city’s purchase orders and contract process on Sept. 5, according to the city.

After Slusiewicz’s exit, the remaining four council members reflected on the past few weeks.

“While this truly may be a dark moment in our lives, from this darkness we will rise and we will shine,” Councilman John Mark Jennings said.

“We’re going to put this city back to the way it was,” Minagar said. “A first-class city with the best citizens that we have. Everyone is involved because citizens carry this city.”

The council will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15 at City Hall, 30111 Crown Valley Parkway.