Following a suicide attempt and a later confession that it was due to guilt over embezzling an undisclosed sum of money from the Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, Tamara Wallace, the mayor of the city of South Lake Tahoe, California, has resigned.
“I am submitting my resignation to you, effective immediately. I urge Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass to resign as well,” Wallace reportedly wrote in a resignation email sent to City Clerk Susan Blankenship, the city manager, city attorney, and South Tahoe Now on Monday night.
Wallace urged Bass to resign as well due to his Sept. 25 arrest for assault, trespassing and harassment, stemming from an altercation with an employee at the Lake Tahoe AleWorx. Bass was reportedly the aggressor.
Prior to her resignation, Wallace admitted to stealing “funds from the Presbyterian church over an extended period” while serving as the congregation’s administrator in an op-ed published on SouthTahoeNow.com.
“Because of this, on September 11, 2025, my birthday, I tried to end my life. I was so filled with guilt, shame, and grief that I experienced a mental health crisis that made suicide seem to be the best solution. It was only by the grace of God that I failed,” she wrote.
Wallace further stated that after her suicide attempt, she spent 18 days in a mental health facility. Now she’s coping by using prescription drugs and intense therapy, and has been trying to reach out to the church’s pastor, Greg Hughes, without success.
“I have been reaching out to the church through the pastor. I have not heard back yet, other than hearing second-hand that the church may seek charges through the district attorney. I have heard that someone told the Tribune that they now have a reporter trying to get a story,” Wallace wrote. “Here it is … rather than being like many public servants and individuals who try to lie, hide, and delay the consequences of something they have done, I am taking a different path. I am telling the truth and admitting what I have done.”
In a statement to The Christian Post, the church’s board of directors said they fired Wallace after learning that she had stolen money from the church and reported her to local authorities.
“Tamara Wallace has formally acknowledged committing a significant offense against the congregation of Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church. When this was discovered by the church, her employment was terminated on September 26, 2025, and the matter was appropriately referred to law enforcement authorities,” church officials said. “She did not attend our church nor was she a member. Our congregation has suffered extensive loss, and as we address this loss and its impact, we remain committed to prayer, compassion, transparency, and justice.”
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