A Maryland mayor has set up an outdoor "tent office" complete with a large wood desk and an American flag after he was evicted from his office.
The Seat Pleasant City Council voted to remove Eugene Grant's permanent office space amid allegations of him creating a hostile work environment. An ongoing battle has brewed between the mayor's office and council, and Grant said his physical office at Seat Pleasant City Hall fell victim to that battle.
"Let me say for the record, there is no truth to these allegations once or ever," Grant said. "I don't even run the city. The city council over the last six years has been stripping away the powers of the mayor over and over again which means I'm not in charge."
Grant said he lost full access to his office without due process and will now rely on a mobile tent and social media to reach his constituents in what he has dubbed his "mobile mayor campaign."
He even held a ribbon-cutting event for his tent office Friday, complete with a large white sign that reads, "OFFICE OF THE MAYOR."
"We are here to serve the people of Seat Pleasant, Maryland," Grant said. "Brick and mortar will not hold us back."
Gloria Sistrunk with the city's ethics committee said she was unaware of the eviction.
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"The ethics committee's job is to investigate any charges between the council and the mayor, but we were never informed and I don't understand why," Sistrunk said.
A small crowd of supporters gathered outsied Grant's "office" Friday, where he plans to stay put despite an offer from one of his constituents.
"I said, 'You can come into my living room!'" Seat Pleasant resident Lillian Colston said.
