EVANSVILLE, Wyo. — After five years with the city, Evansville Mayor Candace Machado announced her intention to immediately resign from her position via Facebook on Saturday.
The mayor began her statement by clarifying that she is extremely proud of the decisions she’s made and the leadership she has brought to Evansville since being elected to the town council five years ago.
Over the course of her tenure with the city, however, she said she was witness to “a system that is broken, a state that would rather fall backwards than forward, greed, power, control, back door deals and people in positions wanting you to ‘keep with the status quo’ so we don’t create waves.”
“The political system is built on ‘being seen and not heard,’ and if you are heard in Wyoming you better say and do the right thing,” Machado said in her statement. “If you don’t ’fall in line,’ then you will be quietly silenced or ignored.”
Machado has been a part of many recent community achievements, which she highlighted as a point of pride through the last few years. These include the town’s recent 100-year anniversary celebration and the establishment of a new animal shelter.
She has more recently been at the center of controversy and demands for her resignation. After approving the planting of pride flags around city property during Pride Month in June 2025, some Evansville residents charged that she had politicized her position and responded by drawing swastikas, a common Nazi symbol, with chalk outside the town hall to make a point.
Multiple town council sessions over the course of the summer were attended by residents who continued to call for her to vacate her position.
The mayor also received criticism by part of the town council itself, with Councilmember Greg Flesvig calling for her resignation and describing the pride flags as “antagonistic” toward residents.
“I have always fought for equality and inclusive thinking and I will continue to do that as a social worker, activist, advocate, business owner, and human being,” Machado explained in her announcement.
Machado fielded those criticisms of her office for months. Now, however, she says she will no longer “support or be a part of a system that fosters silence, discrimination, sexism, religious preference, racism, bigotry, harassment, adult bullying, staff lies, stalking, lying, manipulation, or elected officials behaving inappropriately behind the scenes.”
She said that she will continue to use her page and influence as a channel for explaining the intricacies of local politics, relying on her five years with the town.
“Silence is why nothing changes,” Machado said. “Status quo is why the truth never comes to light, and at the end of the day people will love or hate you so you might as well be fabulous and share the truth anyways.”
The full Facebook post can be found here.
