Racist, meme-loving mayor stands tall and proud in refusal to resign: 'The racist stuff, I admit it, I did that'

By Fusion Staff  |  October 4, 2016 | 7:59pm
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Last time we checked in with Charles Wasko—lover of racist Facebook memes and mayor of West York, PA—the poor council members of the small Pennsylvania town were left wondering what, exactly, they could do to get this guy out of office. (There are no obvious legal routes to ousting the unpaid mayor, save for a criminal conviction.)

A quick refresher of Wasko’s favorite types of memes to share on his Facebook page:

“I would punch him in the mouth if I could get away with it,” councilwoman Shelley Metzler told the York Daily Record last week after news of the memes broke.

So one might imagine Wasko to back down, apologize even, or maybe step down from his position. But no—our man Charles Wasko has declined to do any of these things.

In a new interview with ABC Central PA, Wasco chalked up the outrage over his posts to a greater conspiracy to “what’s really going on” in the council.

“The racist stuff, I admit, I did that,” Wasco told the news station. “I don’t care what people label me as. But it’s just a smoke screen, to cover up what’s really going on.”

Wasko did not specify what was really going on.

On Monday night, the West York City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting, and some further shit went down.

According to the York Daily Record, the council formally voted to censure Wasko at the meeting. They also announced they’re looking at any potential legal avenues to remove him from office. So far, they’ve come up empty.

As the Washington Post points out, Wasko’s role as mayor of the small town doesn’t carry any real power. But, as one council member stated in Monday night’s meeting, Wasko’s specter may haunt the town’s financial prospects; one can imagine a business may not be keen to move there with West York’s reputation tarnished by his social media activity.

Meanwhile, Wasko continues to post his memes. This is just from today:

Attempts to contact Wasko were not immediately returned.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.

 
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