#Michigan mayor resigns over race comment during City Council vote

A Michigan mayor has resigned amid criticism for saying she’d be “crucified” if she didn’t vote to reappoint a black city official.

Beth Bashert stepped down as mayor of Ypsilanti Tuesday, one week after making the controversial comment during a City Council vote on the reappointment of city human relations commissioner Ka’Ron Gaines.

“I am deeply sorry to have my service end on this note and in this way,” Bashert, who is white, wrote on Facebook. “Sadly, as a result of my actions, there is healing to do to ensure that all residents, including black, indigenous and people of color, enjoy full equity in Ypsilanti.”

Bashert — who ultimately voted to reappoint Gaines, while the rest of the panel voted against the move — apologized for her “biased” remark a day later.

“Since I will be crucified if I vote against any black person on any commission, I’m going to vote yes,” Bashert said during the Zoom meeting.

But Bashert’s apology wasn’t enough to satisfy a nonprofit group in Ypsilanti, Survivors Speak, and other council members who joined the call for her resignation during protests Saturday and Monday, MLive.com reports.

“I am glad that she recognized that the role was not about her but about the community,” Councilwoman Nicole Brown told the outlet. “She did the right thing to start healing and moving our community forward. I’m thankful that she made the decision to resign.”

Another council member, meanwhile, said Bashert’s resignation more than two years before her term was set to expire is a sign of society’s changing views on “language, microaggressions and actions” regarding systemic racism.

“However policy, positions and personnel have much long-standing as a form of structural racism,” Councilman Anthony Morgan told MLive.com. “Those are the things that need to be deconstructed.”