by Sarah Mansheim
Clay has a new interim mayor.
Clay Town Council member Jason Hubbard accepted the appointment at an emergency town council meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 16, after former Mayor Beverly Whaling resigned the previous day.
Whaling found herself at the center of a nation-wide controversy last week after she commented on a racist Facebook post.
The Facebook post was created by Pamela Ramsey Taylor who, after the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, stated that she looked forward to having Trump’s wife, Melania, as the first lady.
“I’m tired of seeing a Ape (sic) in heels,” the post said, referring to the current, African American First Lady Michelle Obama.
The trope of comparing black people to apes has a long, racist history in the United States.
Whaling “liked” the Facebook post and commented, “Just made my day Pam.”
By Sunday night, Nov. 13, the post had gone viral, and Clay County found itself in a harsh spotlight. Clay Town Hall, the Clay County Development Corporation — where Taylor worked — and the Clay County Free Press were among the businesses inundated with angry phone calls and emails demanding that both women be fired from their jobs and accusing Clay County of racism. By Tuesday, over 40,000 people added their names to an online petition demanding that they be fired. (As of this week’s press time, nearly 200,000 people have added their name to the petition.)
The reaction by officials was swift — on Tuesday, Taylor was placed on leave from her job, and that evening, Whaling resigned.
At Tuesday’s town hall meeting, Hubbard condemned the Facebook post’s “horrible and indecent” language and apologized to Obama and anyone else who was offended.
Former town council member Josh Shamblin will take Hubbard’s place on the council.
