Exactly one week after Racine Mayor Gary Becker showed up at Brookfield Square to do a little shopping at Victoria's Secret with a "14-year-old girl" he met online, he resigned. Becker is out.
From the Racine Journal Times:
Gary Becker resigned his position as mayor effective 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“In accordance with 17.01 Wis.Stats. I resign my position as the Mayor of the City of Racine effective at 5 p.m. today, January 20, 2009,” states the letter that the mayor’s criminal defense attorney Patrick Cafferty delivered to the city clerk Tuesday at 11:13 a.m.
“He decided this was in everyone’s best interest and he is hoping the city can now move on,” Cafferty said.
Becker intends to enter not guilty pleas to the six felony counts against him at his Feb. 10 arraignment, Cafferty said.
The felony counts include: child enticement, possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office.
Becker’s resignation does not need to be officially accepted by the City Council, said City Attorney Rob Weber.
The resignation took place just moments after President Barack Obama took office.
“It’s painfully ironic that within 15 minutes of President Obama taking the oath of office to become our next president that Gary Becker was resigning from office,” City Administrator Ben Hughes said.
Becker timed his resignation well. It became effective at 5:00 PM, half an hour before an Executive Committee session of the City Council was scheduled to discuss his removal from office. He avoided having the aldermen vote on his fate.
Plus, citizens of Racine and Wisconsin were focusing on all things Barack Obama on Tuesday. With all the Obama fanfare, Becker could quietly slip away.
It's better to resign than to be thrown out of office, but there's no way it can be said that Becker is leaving with his head held high.
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