Many questions and much controversy surround Demopolis Mayor Cecil P. Williamson regarding whether she did or did not intentionally instruct the city clerk to pay insurance premiums undue to her.

Evidently, the mayor &8212; who originally pleaded not guilty to knowingly and intentionally obtaining city funds for personal use and knowingly obtaining city funds for personal use by deception has decided &8220;to do what is best for the City of Demopolis, her family and herself,&8221; Williamson said.

Obviously, what is best for the City of Demopolis would be for this situation to have never happened.

Unfortunately for all involved, this is not the case.

We commend District Attorney Greg Griggers and the councilmen who stepped up and tried to right a wrong.

We further applaud Griggers for his diligent work in the case. Although some may not agree with the downgrade of charge, we believe the district attorney made the best decision for the city. We also hold Williamson accountable during her probationary period to ensure no other obstruction of governmental operations takes place.

It is a shame that members of the city council and the district attorney were placed in a position in which they had to pursue such matters as seeking an indictment of a person in the city&8217;s highest office.

With that said, the mayor has admitted to wrongdoing and replenished the funds she intentionally instructed the Demopolis city clerk to pay.

That was as close to &8220;I am guilty&8221; as the citizens of the City of Demopolis are going to hear.

We regret this situation ever occurred and support the city in putting the shame of this incident in the past. The City of the People deserves better.

Demopolis needs to get past this dark spot on our history and elect new leaders with integrity and with the best interest of the city&8217;s taxpayers at heart.