Councilor Heather Hill emailed Richardson to say that although he had said he was regularly communicating with senior staff members, she had heard that that was not the case and said the council had not received much communication since March 12.

“This is a unique and critical time in our organization and the community at large. Strong leadership is paramount,” she wrote, adding a directive to provide the council with a full update on staffing decisions by the next day.

Richardson wrote back that officials had been holding multiple meetings and sending out press releases.

“Please allow me to do my job for once instead of meddling in my day-to-day operations. I have asked for you to stop this in the past,” he wrote. “This [is] causing confusion. I should not hear from staff that you are communicating with them about planning without my knowledge.”

Hill acknowledged that there had been meetings with the council, but wrote they had not heard anything from Richardson in several days. She wrote that there is a “leadership vacuum” and felt it was her duty to communicate that to him “as frustrations are growing among staff.”

Mayor Nikuyah Walker then weighed in that she feels Richardson isn’t aligned with the council.