Charles Wasko (ABC Screengrab)
The mayor of a Pennsylvania town offered to resign after the racist memes he posted on Facebook of President Barack Obama drew criticism. Atlanta Black Star reported West York, Pennsylvania Mayor Charles Wasko came under fire for posting images of monkeys and comparing them to Obama’s family.
According to the York Daily Record, council members collectively agreed Oct. 17 to accept Wasko’s resignation. The move came after a 6-0 vote that makes council president Shawn Mauck the mayor once Wasko officially resigns Oct. 21. Mauck will fill the position for the remainder of the term, which wraps next year.
A letter Wasko sent to council members last week set his resignation in motion. The two-page document outlined four requests. One item asked the council to “entertain” the idea of employing a police sergeant in the local department. Next, he wanted members to “take legislative action” and have council vote on his departure. Lastly, Wasko demanded the council suspend acting West York police chief Matt Millsaps.
Upon reviewing the letter, Mauck told CBS News the council discussed his concerns as required. However, Millsaps remained chief.
“The demands were kind of silly childish immature from a guy who’s not displayed too much maturity the last couple days,” Mauck said to WHP-TV.
Although Wasko has not responded to the decision, he took to Facebook last night to proclaim the council’s move did not comply with his requests. It went on to list three ways a mayor can be removed under the Pennsylvania Constitution. They are a sentence for a notorious crime, impeachment or “reasonable cause… on the address of two-thirds of the Senate.”
After Wasko’s images depicting Michelle Obama as a smiling chimpanzee and the first family moving out of the white house as orangutans in a wheelbarrow showed up online, the embattled mayor defended the posts.
“The racist stuff, yeah I’ll admit I did that,” Wasko remarked to Pennsylvania’s ABC27. “And I don’t care what people label me as.”
