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Warren “Butch” Taylor, a longtime councilman, was overheard last week using the word “bitch” to identify the women while he Zoomed into a council meeting from his home.

Late Sunday, the city of Hazelwood issued a statement attributed to Taylor that apologized for his “derogatory remarks.” Taylor did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

But the councilwomen, Jen Hatton and Kelly Wadlow, have criticized the city’s response and say it’s the latest example of mistreatment since they were elected a year ago.

“There are a few seasoned councilmen who have done nothing but name-called and harassed us since we took office, and they just finally got caught, publicly,” Hatton said in an interview.

The incident happened during Hazelwood’s City Council meeting last Wednesday night. About 10 minutes in, the council started honoring a retiring police officer. Taylor, who patched into the meeting via Zoom, appeared to be talking to a woman, unaware his microphone was still on.

“I haven’t seen your new (inaudible) yet,” the woman says.

Taylor leans forward and looks at the screen from one side to the other.

“This is Jen, and this is the other bitch,” he says.

A moment passes before Taylor speaks again.

“No, I’m muted,” he says.

After about a minute, the woman tells him the microphone is on: “They just said you are not muted, so they heard that.”

Taylor quickly responds: “I don’t care.”

The woman then says someone with the fire department texted her that they heard the comment.

“He’s there?” Taylor says.

Taylor then goes silent, except to take votes on council action. The slur went unacknowledged during the rest of the meeting.

Hatton said she did not hear the slur during the meeting, but it was brought to officials’ attention by the next morning. Video of the meeting on the city’s Facebook page had been viewed more than 900 times by Monday.

In a statement issued on the Facebook page, Taylor said he reached out to Hatton and Wadlow to apologize, volunteered for counseling and would request time at the next council meeting to “reiterate” his apology in person.

“I sincerely apologize for my comment and hope my remark does not reflect negatively on the City of Hazelwood,” the Facebook post read. “My statement was unbecoming of the position that they elected me to represent.”

Several commenters criticized the apology as too little, too late. Some called for Taylor to resign. One resident of Taylor’s ward said he would start a group to campaign to unseat him in the next election.

Hatton, in an interview, said other councilmen have made derisive comments about her and Wadlow because they are new in office and have asked questions about projects and spending. She declined to provide more details, including about an incident she said was a “personnel matter” discussed in a closed-door meeting.

But Hatton said she and Wadlow, who were elected in April 2023, felt compelled to speak out against a “culture” Hazelwood leaders created.

“If we continue to sit here and not say anything and let it go and allow for the bad behavior of individuals to continue and not only be tolerated but to be the norm, then we’re not doing a service to our city staff and to our residents,” Hatton said. “I would like to see leadership make a stand, and I would like to see real change and the fact that this type of behavior is not tolerated for anyone.”

Hatton said Taylor left her a voicemail asking for a return call so he could apologize personally, but she didn’t call back.

“I felt like his true feelings were known and there really wasn’t anything for us to discuss further,” she said.

Wadlow commented on the Facebook apology to say she and Hatton were taken by surprise by it after “several days of no contact” from city leaders.

“Maybe others would like to know how the City of Hazelwood council (members) treats their council. All because as newest members we want to ask questions,” she wrote in the comment. “We want to do better for the city and the people who elected us. And that is frowned upon. It is simply rubber stamp and go with the good ol’ boys.”

Mayor Matthew Robinson told the Post-Dispatch on Monday that the incident was “a very unfortunate situation.”

He said after Hatton and Wadlow texted him about the incident, he asked them to write a letter to him and the city’s personnel director.

“It is a personnel matter,” Robinson said. “I have communicated with all people involved within the first 24 hours. And they all have been provided the resources needed from the city.”