On Monday, the town council of West York, Pennsylvania, voted to accept the resignation of Mayor Charles Wasko, who found himself in the center of controversy over racist Facebook posts, including posts that depicted the Obama family as apes.
Last week, the borough council voted to censure Wasko, but they did not have the power to throw him out of office. The vote to accept Wasko’s resignation was unanimous, and Democratic Council President Shawn Mauck will step in as mayor with Wasko on the way out.
“I think Mayor Wasko missed a golden opportunity,” Mauck said. “He could have come out and apologized, and that would have been a signature move forward.”
“I don’t think he’s taken his position seriously from Day One,” he added.
While Wasko has claimed to be the victim of a “witch hunt,” he also admitted to Harrisburg TV station WHTM last month, “The racist stuff, yeah. I’ll admit I did that, and I don’t care what people label me as.”
Wasko offered to resign if the council reinstated the previous police chief, who was on paid leave. The council only had to consider his conditions but not accept them, and they did not make any changes to the police chief position.