HUDSTON, Ohio — The mayor resigned Monday after a few days of derision and national attention drawn to the city, suggesting that allowing ice fishing shanties on a lake could lead to prostitution.
Hudson Mayor Craig Schubert said in his resignation letter that his comments at a city council meeting were misinterpreted.
"To make a point about this, my attempt to inject a little dry humor in the middle of a cold, snowy February was grossly misunderstood," Schubert said.
During last week's discussion about allowing people to fish on the frozen city lake, Schubert said he wanted to raise some "data points."
"Does someone come back next year and say, 'I want a snow shack on Hudson Springs Park for x time'?" ' said Schubert. "And if you allow ice fishing with shanties, it leads to another problem - prostitution. Now you've got the police chief and the police department involved."
Schubert later said that his comments about ice huts and prostitution stemmed from his experience as a television news reporter covering law enforcement agencies that have arrested people for prostitution in the slums. He said he was concerned about the potential for unintended consequences.
In his resignation letter, Schubert said he felt he had completed his job as mayor and was nearing retirement.
"Some in our community saw this as an opportunity to engage in the politics of personal destruction through character assassination, blaming me for the negative international press they helped promote," he said.
It was the second time he had attracted national attention in the city southeast of Cleveland.
Last year, he called on members of the Hudson School Board to resign over the use of a book of writing he called child pornography for a college-level class in high school.