The difference is that the Mayor supported her and the council opposed her so strongly to react illegally.
The accusation has been made, with no reference to source, that this is about auditing the payroll records of the city. And that this involves the councilmen being paid for “other services” out of city funds. If that is true, it would partially explain the reaction of the councilmen, and the support of the Mayor.
She was just in the middle of the dispute.
I agree.
So the big dog in that small town would presumably be that councilman at the end of the table.
It is not uncommon for the Police Chief and cops of a small town to best buddy up with the big dog and his inner circle. I've seen it. In my town it went on until one day the big dog was found by the Chief under his tractor's wheels, crushed. Evidently the big dog had been trying to extricate a root from the furrowing rig and the tractor rolled back on him. Another story is that the Chief saw him struggling with the root and offered to help by operating the tractor, but inadvertently put it in reverse instead of forward, accidentally crushing the man.
A few years later the Chief was caught cheating on his wife and someother expense account malarky. He was told take early retirement or be fired. I regret that the councilpeople in my town did not have the honor to fire the bad Chief. Why was he bad? He looked for ways for the police force to harass the families of political opponents and the weak and to protect the families of allies when they did wrong.
But in so doing he made the weak strong and he and the big dog's old inner circle came to be uprooted.