Pennsylvania town’s mayor resigns after posting racist Obama memes

Charles Wasko previously compared the First Family to orangatangs

(Charles Wasko/Facebook)

Mayor Charles Wasko of West York, a small town in Pennsylvania, is resigning after being widely condemned for posting racist memes of President Barack Obama.

Following the controversy, the West York Council unanimously accepted his resignation on Monday night. The York Daily Record reports that his resignation goes into effect on October 21.

“The good news is we get to move on, and we’re going to deal with the topic at hand and continue to heal our community and build a better West York,” Council President Shawn Mauck told reporters.

Mr Mauck will fulfill the mayor’s duties for the rest of the term, which runs until December 21, 2017.

The town’s council approved a motion earlier this month to censure Mr Wasko and called for him to resign from his post. He was caught posting racist memes including Facebook posts that called Mr Obama and his family apes.

"We're going to move forward together to do everything we can to help the community heal," Mr Mauck told reporters while admitting that he feared the mayor’s actions would damage the town’s economy and reputation.