Mayor Beverly Whaling of Clay in West Virginia has resigned after she came under fire for approvingly commenting on a racist Facebook post calling United States First Lady Michelle Obama 'an ape in heels'.
Town recorder Joe Coleman said that Whaling turned in her letter of resignation Tuesday and that her resignation was effective immediately, reports the Washington Post.
The mayor's resignation came a day after the director of a local, government-funded nonprofit organisation was removed from her position over the racist Facebook post.
After Donald Trump won the US presidential election, Pamela Ramsey Taylor, director of the Clay County Development Corporation, took to social media to comment on the upcoming shift from Michelle Obama to Melania Trump, writing: "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels."
Whaling responded: "Just made my day Pam."
The comments and Facebook pages of both the women were later deleted, but images of Taylor's post and the mayor's response had already gone viral by the time.
Clay Council member Jason Hubbard issued a brief statement condemning the "horrific" post and said "racial intolerance isn't what this community is about." He apologised on behalf of the town to anyone who is offended, including Michelle Obama.
Whaling said in a statement sent to news media that she was referencing the change in the White House. She says she isn't racist.
Photograph: Reuters