Town council accepts mayor's resignation following racist posts

A Pennsylvania town council voted on Monday accepting the resignation of Republican Mayor Charles Wasko.

Wasko came under fire earlier this year following racist posts made on his Facebook page. He had posted pictures of apes with captions referring to President Barack Obama and his family, and had one referring to lynching.

The West York town council met on Monday, with a unanimous vote to accept Wasko’s resignation.

The mayoral duties will be taken over by Democratic Council President Shawn Mauck.

Mauck said, "I think Mayor Wasko missed a golden opportunity," adding, "he could have come out and apologized, and that would have been a signature move forward."

Wasko was elected mayor of the small Pennsylvania town of nearly 4,500 residents back in 2013. He was not paid as mayor, only voting to break council ties and oversees the police department.

Wasko had an interview with Harrisburg TV station WHTM earlier this month and said, "The racist stuff, yeah. I'll admit I did that, and I don't care what people label me as”. Also adding that he did not regret the postings on social media referencing the president.

Wasko had offered to resign if the council reinstated the previous police chief. According to Mauck, the council had to address his conditions but did not have to agree to the terms. He said, "Our chief is still the chief”. Mauck also added, “we took a look at his requests and gave them appropriate consideration, as required, but we made no changes.”

The Associated Press contributd to this report.