Out in Hudson, Ohio, the Mayor is officially stepping down and retiring after a “grossly misunderstood” joke that linked ice fishing to prostitution.
As reported by USA Today, Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert recently highlighted a few “data points” as part of a city council meeting about the legality of ice fishing at a local park.
“Does someone come back next year and say I want an ice shanty on Hudson Springs Park for X amount of time?” asked Shubert. “And if you then allow ice fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem. Prostitution. Now you’ve got the police chief and the police department involved.”
In the wake of the incident, Shubert put out a statement seemingly insisting that his statements were trying to “enlighten” the council about some other issues that could crop from due to their policies.
“My comment about ice fishing, the permitting of shanties on lakes, and prostitution stems from my experience as a former television news reporter covering law enforcement agencies, which have made arrests for acts of prostitution in ice fishing shanties,” he stated. “When discussing proposed legislation, it is wise to discuss the potential for unintended consequences. My statement was to enlighten council that the future permitting of ice shanties may lead to other issues.”
Shubert later saw the controversy that cropped up as a consequence of his joke as a chance to step down from his role amid changes going on in his personal life.
“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,” stated Shubert as part of his resignation statement, as reported by the Akron Beacon Journal. “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.”
“Some in our community saw this as an opportunity to engage in the politics of personal destruction by means of character assassination, blaming me for the negative international press they helped to promote,” stated Shubert.
“Since the passing of my wife, First Lady Sherri Moyer, I have given considerable thought to the next stage of my life. Retirement is on the near horizon,” he continued. “With the recent changes on city council, where six of seven seats have turned over, City Hall is entering a new era. My role as a change agent is complete.”
Near the end of last year, Shubert was in the news over his appearance in front of a local school district to issue a speech about how a book that was being forced upon high schoolers was “essentially child porn,” demanding that all five sitting officials tender their resignation.