Jeff Wieler has stepped down as Mayor of Piedmont following a series of Facebook posts that elicited outrage from some members of the community. Wieler will stay on the city council until he is termed out in November 2018, but his largely ceremonial role as mayor is no more.
Wieler made the comments during a Facebook conversation with another Piedmont resident. One called liberals “un-American,” another said that Black Lives Matter “encourages cop killing,” and one said “Transgenders are mentally ill.”
Conna McCarthy, the daughter of former Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, was one of the residents irked by the comments. She read them aloud at an Aug. 21 meeting.
Wieler issued the following statement over the weekend:
"It is with regret that I tender my resignation from the position of Mayor, effective as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, August 27, 2017. I realize my continuation in the position is no longer tenable for the City Council. After a quarter century of volunteering for Piedmont in various roles, I regret the impact this has had upon the City I love and the men and women in the staff who do such a find job for our citizens. My thanks to them and you for the support I have been shown throughout my time on the City Council and as Mayor. I am proud of what I accomplished as a civic volunteer. I am less proud of how my service as Mayor is ending."
Wieler followed up, suggesting the current tenor of national politics had contributed to the way in which his comments were perceived.
“We have a president who has coarsened the national dialogue and made many people feel insulted,” Wieler said. “No matter what you think of his policies and programs, this is a reality that I and many other Republicans are coming to acknowledge.”
“I apologize deeply for the pain I’ve caused. Going forward, I will restrict my Facebook posts to pictures of our pets and vacation pictures. Fortunately, I’ve never tweeted!”