To outsiders, the reasoning is unclear for the shakeup at the top of Chico city government. The city council has deposed their Mayor, Randall Stone, and replaced him with Council Member Ann Schwab. Stone remains on the council, he’s just been relieved of his authority as mayor. Prior attempts to get him removed from the council had failed. Schwab said stone created an “atmosphere of distrust”, but the reason for the bad blood may have a lot to do with opposition by several council members to a needle exchange program. Randall was supporter of the program and its disease-preventing goals, but others had said it had a negative effect on the community. The issue heated up when stone recently made an intentionally ironic Facebook post, saying the council should pass an ordinance to ban the distribution of Coronavirus because it’s so dangerous.