Bloomfield Mayor Donna Medlin resigns, citing health reasons

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Although Donna Medlin announced her resignation at a previous board of aldermen meeting, it will not be official until Monday.

Medlin, who wasn't quite through her first term, said she felt she had a decision to make and needed to get her priorities in line.

"I just thought about it and prayed about it, and I decided I was going to have to give something up," Medlin explained. "My priorities are God, family, health, and then my work."

Medlin went on to explain that she receives shots every two to three months to manage back pain.

"I do so much with my family and church and everything else, things were just getting difficult," Medlin said.

Medlin most recently secured a hard-fought victory for a controversial $10 million bond issue to overhaul Bloomfield's water system. She said that at no point did she have any plan to resign while she worked to pass the bond issue.

"I just looked at everything going on in my life and decided something needed to change," Medlin commented. "I realized leaving the office was what I needed to do; but I didn't want to drag it out because it just wouldn't be fair to the city. ... There's too much that needs to be done."

Medlin said she is confident a good replacement will fill her position, either Mayor Pro Tem Donna Deardorff or someone else.

"I think Donna would do a great job," Medlin said. "But I know there are some other really good possibilities out there that have expressed interest."

Medlin said the board of aldermen will make the decision of who will serve the remainder of her term.

Medlin was elected to the mayoral office in 2013 and, before that, served a term as Bloomfield North Ward alderwoman.