[Don't worry about the female hag, or about the comments of the New York Daily news. This white man stood firm, and I have found more on this matter. It is EXCELLENT that a white male in the USA has stood up and not backed down, even after being forced to resign. This is FANTASTIC. All white males, everywhere, need to begin doing this. Jan]

Michigan road commissioner to resign after using N-word, saying he didn’t regret it

By Tim Balk New York Daily News
Aug 07, 2020

Hit the road, pal.

A rural Michigan road commissioner who used the N-word in a meeting, then doubled-down on it after taking criticism, will resign from his post, a county official said Friday.

At the meeting, Leelanau County Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle used the word and declared that Black Lives Matter has “to do with taking the country away from us,” according to the Leelanau Enterprise newspaper.

The Enterprise reported that Eckerle, who was elected to a six-year term on the road commission in 2018, was asked why his face wasn’t covered in a coronavirus mask and replied: “Well this whole thing is because of them (N-word) down in Detroit.”

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The noxious remark drew the attention of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who added her voice to a chorus demanding that Eckerle step down.

“Governor Whitmer believes that Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle must resign immediately,” Tiffany Brown, the Democratic governor’s spokesperson, said in a statement emailed Friday to the Daily News. “His comments are atrocious.”

Leelanau County Administrator Chet Janik told the Associated Press on Friday that Eckerle would leave his post after taking heat from around the country.

“I personally and professionally think it’s in the best interests of Mr. Eckerle, the road commission and Leelanau County,” Janik told the AP.

The Leelanau County Road Commission had asked Eckerle to quit. “We do not condone the racist comments that you made,” the body said in a letter to Eckerle dated Thursday and posted to Facebook.

Eckerle, 75, had told Interlochen Public Radio he won’t resign.

“No, I don’t regret calling it an (N-word),” he told the station before repeating the slur three more times.

A phone call from the Daily News to a number listed for Eckerle wasn’t immediately returned.

Leelanau County, which is about 93% white, hugs the northern waters of Lake Michigan. It sits across the lake from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

On Wednesday, Whitmer declared racism a public health crisis in the state.