The mayor of Lexington has resigned from his position, saying hateful comments on social media were the reason for his resignation.
Lexington Mayor Fred Wiedner resigned Tuesday, June 25; hateful comments on Facebook drove him out of office. He explained his reasons in an open letter to the city.
In his letter Wiedner said “I did not sign up for this mess. Or, possibly I did and just didn’t realize how mean people could be. Either way, it is no longer worth the battle.”
Wiedner served as mayor of Lexington for about a year. According to City Clerk, Carla Ghisalberti, Wiedner resigned before the city council meeting about 5 p.m.
City council members said debate started online after a city administrator was removed earlier this year. Lexington officials were in the process of finding a new administrator.
Attempts to reach Wiedner by phone have been unsuccessful.
Scott Lynn is serving as the mayor pro-tem. Lynn was previously a councilman for the fourth ward of Lexington. Lynn was not available for comment by time of publication.
Lexington voters will elect their next mayor Nov. 5.