ODESSA, TX (KWES) - Odessa City Council is looking to regroup 24 hours after ousting City Manager, Richard Morton.
"We've got to continue to do a service that we give the citizens," said Mayor David Turner.
They are doing so by getting back to work.
"Hate to see Richard leave. He's a friend and I respect him," said Turner.
Tuesday night saw infighting, and arguing with residents over the change in the City Manager's position. A position whose duties now will fall in the lap of Turner and Deputy Manager Michael Marrero.
"We have to reassure our employees things are fine I'm speaking to as many as I can just to calm them down because anytime there's change, there's uncertainty," said Turner.
Morton had a hand in the development of Downtown Odessa and managed the police and fire departments. Voting him out wasn't an easy decision especially for Filiberto Gonzales.
"What happened last night was something that needed to happen and I hated doing it," said Filiberto Gonzales, District 5 City Councilman.
Gonzales was one of the three council members to vote out Morton based off some of his decisions.
"Each of the city councilman have their right to vote. We're all equal. We can all say what we want. We all have an opportunity to vote and say our peace," said Gonzales.
City council now looks to put what happened behind them for the betterment of the city.
"We're all in there for the same reason. We all want to do what's good for the City of Odessa," said Gonzales.
"We've done a lot of really good things, things that have never been done here. We have to get past the petty stuff and continue on the voyage," said Turner.
