Earlier this month, the mayor of Hudson, Ohio, went viral online after suggesting that allowing ice fishing would lead to prostitution during a city council meeting.
Now, after receiving backlash for his comments, Craig Shubert has resigned from his position as mayor.
His remarks, which he credited as dry humor, came after the Hudson City Council began discussing opening a lake in the city to ice fishing. Shubert said that allowing the sport would bring shanties that lead to the world's oldest profession becoming an issue.
"If you then allow ice fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem — prostitution," Shubert said.
On Monday, Shubert, 65, notified the city of his decision to resign immediately and also released a statement on his campaign website.
"My comments at Tuesday's workshop were made out of concern for our community; what could become of unintended consequences of new legislation, based on my prior television news reporting experience," Shubert said in the statement. "My attempt to inject a bit of dry humor to make a point about this, in the midst of a cold, snowy February, was grossly misunderstood."
The now-former mayor has blamed the backlash received on his political foes who used his words for "personal destruction by means of character assassination, blaming me for the negative international press they helped to promote."
In his statement on his website, which is no longer directly accessible, he noted that the death of his wife in September had taken a toll on him.
"Since the passing of my wife, First Lady Sherri Moyer, I have given considerable thought to the next stage of my life," Shubert wrote. "Retirement is on the near horizon. ... I wish to thank the residents of Hudson who have stood alongside Sherri and me the past three years."
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