A Texas mayor has resigned over controversial social media posts calling his voters lazy for complaining about power outages, a report said.
According to KTXS-TV, Colorado Mayor Tom Boyd announced his resignation Tuesday hours after receiving backlash for his lengthy Facebook tirade.
“No one owes you or your family anything; Nor is it the responsibility of the local government to support you in difficult times like these! Sink or swim, it’s your choice! He wrote, “The city and county, along with the electricity suppliers or any other agency, owe you NOTHING!”
“If you don’t have water, you are off the beaten track and think outside the box to survive and provide your family with water,” he added. “When you were at home in the cold because you have no strength and are there waiting for someone to come and rescue you, because your laziness is a direct result of your upbringing!”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with no electricity and water; Yes! But I’ll be damned if I take care of someone who can do it myself! Boyd continued on the post. “Bottom line, stop crying and get a handout! Get off your feet and take care of your own family!”
Later, in a separate post, Boyd apologized saying that he was quitting his job as mayor and that he was not running for re-election.
“I would never want to hurt the elderly or anyone who really needs help to take care of themselves,” the former mayor wrote. “I was just saying that people who are too lazy to get up and take care of themselves shouldn’t be given a handout. My apologies for the wording and some of the phrases used! ”
Texas is grappling with a bitter winter blast that left millions of residents in Lone Star state without power.