Obama Racism 2016: White Mayor Resigns Over Ape Comments, Doesn't Regret 'Racist Stuff'

A town council in Pennsylvania has accepted the resignation of a Republican mayor following his racist comments against President Barack Obama and the first family. The council of West York unanimously voted to allow Mayor Charles Wasko to step down from his position Monday, the York Daily Record reported.

The resignation will become effective Friday, at which point Democratic Council President Shawn Mauck will fill the position for the remainder of the term. The seat will be available for re-election next year.

Wasko, who is white, came under fire after sharing several racist posts on his Facebook page, CBS News reported. In one photo, which displayed two apes, his caption referenced Obama and his family. In a different picture, Wasko referred to lynching. Another post featured the image of a wagon full of orangutans, which Wasko cited as “moving day” at the White House.

Following criticism of the photos by the public, Wasko said on Facebook he will not be "politically correct, I will say what is on my mind and what I believe in ..." He then told a local news station that there would be no apology and he does not regret his actions. "The racist stuff, yeah I'll admit I did that, and I don't care what people label me as," he said.

“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,” he added. Moving forward, Mauck plans to build a police department that will make the neighborhood and community policing a focal point. His goal is for the council to adopt Obama’s model for policing and put a police training program in place.

This is not the first time a political figure has made racist comments towards Obama. Since he took office in 2009, there have been several incidents across the United States in which racist jokes and images have originated from or been circulated by elected and Republican establishment officials.