Resignation

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned amid the scandal of a self-published book series, apologizing for hurting the image of the city after an FBI raid of her city hall office and home.Here’s @MayorPugh50’s resignation letter pic.twitter.com/e7jsQod8UG— Luke Broadwater (@lukebroadwater) May 2, 2019“Dear citizens of Baltimore I would like to thank you for allowing me to serve as the 50th mayor it has been an honor and privilege,” her attorney Stephen Silverman read from her resignation letter at a news conference. “I'm sorry for the harm that I have caused to the image of the city of Baltimore and the credibility of the office of the mayor. Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward." Pugh's resignation comes while she was still on leave after experiencing health issues as a result of pneumonia diagnoses, along with Maryland's governor and members of Baltimore's city council calling for the action."Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust. She is clearly not fit to lead."Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said to the Baltimore Sun after news of the FBI raid of Pugh's office was made public. "For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”The resignation means City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young will take over the duty full-time after filling in during Pugh's leave of absence but insisted that he would not seek re-election to the position in 2020.“Everybody knows that my dream job at one time was to be mayor,” Young said at a news conference after first stepping into the interim role. “But I found out that the president of the City Council is the best job in the world and I’m just going to do this as a placeholder. I will be running for the president of the City Council of Baltimore.”Now check these out:Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh Has Home Raided By IRS And FBIBaltimore Mayor Takes 'Leave Of Absence' Amid ScandalLawyer For Baltimore Mayor Says She's Not 'Lucid' Enough To Decide Whether She Should Resign Following FBI Raid Of Her...

As the governor of Virginia and his attorney general face calls for their resignation over their former fondness for wearing blackface, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who would become governor should Ralph Northam resign, faces an allegation of rape.Her name is Dr. Vanessa Tyson, and she alleges that the lawmaker forced her to perform oral sex during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, the Washington Post reports. In a three-page statement outlining her allegations, Tyson writes that she and Fairfax met on July 26, 2004, as both were working the event. Two days later, she reports, after long work hours of having cordial, but "not flirtatious," interactions, Fairfax suggested she get some fresh air by accompanying him as he ran an errand."I had no reason to feel threatened and agreed to walk with him to his hotel," she wrote. "I stood in the entryway of the room and after he located the documents, he walked over and kissed me. Although surprised by his advance, it was not unwelcome and I kissed him back. He then took my hand and pulled me towards the bed. I was fully clothed in a pantsuit and had no intention of taking my clothes off or engaging in sexual activity."The doctor claims things quickly took a dark turn."What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault," Tyson continued. "Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch. Only then did I realize that he had unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, and taken out his penis. He then forced his penis into my mouth. Utterly shocked and terrified, I tried to move my head away, but could not because his hand was holding down my neck and he was much stronger than me. As I cried and gagged, Mr. Fairfax forced me to perform oral sex on him."Tyson also details the trauma and shame she suffered in the years following the alleged incident."I did not speak about it for years, and I (like most survivors) suppressed those memories and emotions as a necessary means to continue my studies, and to pursue my goal of building a successful career as an academic," she wrote.The doctor said she has been sharing her story for some time, beginning in 2017 when she told her story to friends and asked them not to vote for Fairfax.As the #MeToo movement gained momentum, Tyson said she became increasingly motivated to tell her story publicly. That's when she reached out to a friend at The Washington Post. The paper never ran a story about Tyson's accusations, however, because its fact checkers could not corroborate her claims.According to HuffPost, Fairfax has used this fact to maintain his innocence. “The Post carefully investigated the claim for several months,” read a statement from the lieutenant governor's office. “After being presented with facts consistent with the lieutenant governor’s denial of the allegation, the absence of any evidence corroborating the allegation, and significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegation, the Post made the considered decision not to publish the story.”The Post pushed back against this defense, acknowledging it wasn't able to confirm or deny Tyson's account but also stressing it found no “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations,” contrary to the assertions of Fairfax's team.Fairfax has responded personally to Tyson's allegations in a tweet, writing, "I had a consensual encounter with the woman who made the allegation."pic.twitter.com/c1hbFlNMsz— Justin Fairfax (@FairfaxJustin) February 6, 2019BuzzFeed News reports the lieutenant governor has hired the same law firm that represented Brett Kavanaugh during his successful Supreme Court confirmation hearings (during which he denied an allegation of rape).Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.Now, check these out:Michaela Coel Reveals She Was Sexually Assaulted While Writing 'Chewing Gum'Two More Women Now Accuse Nelly Of Sexual AssaultThe Obamas Speak Their Piece On The Weinstein Sexual Assault...

Recently, news broke of Governor Ralph Northam's racist yearbook page. Northam issued an apology in which he tries to convince Americans that the “photo and the racist and offensive attitude it represents does not reflect that person I am today or the way that I have conducted myself as a soldier a doctor and a public servant.”But the issue at hand goes beyond an old yearbook photo. I can’t help but wonder how beliefs that led him to be in pictures of him in either blackface or KKK garb (or neither, now) in his medical school yearbook have impacted Black people he encountered over the years as a doctor, soldier and public servant.During Northam's 2017 run for governor, his campaign spent $9 million on Get Out the Vote (GOTV), including literature featuring all of the democratic candidates to mobilize Virginia voters. But Justin Fairfax, the current Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, was left off of the coordinated campaign literature (lit).Black voters — who make up one-fifth of the voting electorate in Virginia, were a key voting block for Northam in what would prove to be a tight race. As the only Black statewide candidate running for statewide office, having Fairfax on the coordinated campaign lit would have been key to turning out Black voters.Northam’s decision to leave Fairfax off the ballot prompted Black led political organizations, such as Collective PAC, to fill in the void. And when the campaign was called out, democratic leaders and advisors dismissed the complaints as “blown out of proportion." Even the president of the local NAACP dismissed the issue, instead urging democrats and Black voters to “stay focused on the goals ... that Ralph wins …”The campaign didn't apologize for leaving Fairfax off the ballot, stating “we are making a historic investment in the coordinated campaign, including giving or raising $9 million in Get Out The Vote efforts for the entire ticket without asking for any additional investment from the ticket mates.” The campaign basically said “you ain't put in on this, man,” opting to leave Fairfax off the lit at the risk of losing the very votes they would need to win — the Black vote.How have the young white assailants during the Woolworth lunch counter sit in, the young white women booing Black women participating in the women's suffrage march, the young white parents who berated six year Ruby Bridges on her first day of school and young white bystanders who stood in silence as these acts took place, impacted the lives Black people they’ve encountered over the years? What comes of young white people who’s past racist actions have gone largely unchecked and unnoticed?They grow up to be doctors who provide medical advice based on age old racist stereotypes that leave Black mothers facing death unnecessarily when giving birth, high infant mortality rates and Black patients without the care they need. They grow up to be the Secretary of State of Florida (also caught wearing blackface back in the day ) where they oversee elections processes in a state that has a long and well documented history of voter suppression that continues today. They grow up to be people who would call the police on young Black entrepreneurs selling water or mowing grass. They grow up to be police who use deadly force on Black men ad women, and teachers who over discipline Black girls and boys. They grow up to be voters and elected leaders who would see this country's government shut down for over a month for border wall funding.His unwillingness to step aside for the Black Lieutenant Governor, who would be only the second Black governor in the state's history, doesn’t surprise me. Northam, like many before him and even today, have been able to live life free of consequence for their past transgressions. Northam has grown up to become an entitled, selfish and disgraced elected official clinging on to a governorship he doesn’t deserve at the expense of the Black voters who put him in office. And this is why he must step down and face the consequences of his actions, so that racist behavior no longer goes unchecked. He must step down so that Virginians can have leadership they truly deserve — the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax.Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking...

Every day under Trump’s administration is like watching a trash reality show. You’re not sure why you keep tuning it but each week you’re glued to the tv, ready for the drama.This week, it’s Trump’s labor secretary nominee, who is the latest contestant to go home. Andrew Puzder, the CEO of the fast food chain that owns Carl’s Jr. and Hardees, was set to face his first confirmation committee as Labor Secretary on Thursday. Just like many politicians, Puzder’s personal life has come under scrutiny since being announced as Trump’s cabinet pick, most particularly his bitter divorce with his ex-wife, Lisa Fierstein. Back in 1990, Fierstein appeared on an episode of “Oprah” where she appeared incognito during a “High-Class Battered Women” segment. A shook Fierstein confessed, “once I made [the abuse] public, he vowed revenge. He said, “I will see you in the gutter. You will pay for this.” I had nothing.” She went on to later retract the abuse claims as part of a child custody agreement and again this January in a letter to senators but the hard evidence was already there.According to the Chicago Tribune, Oprah Winfrey and her forever loyal television squad provided senators just last month with footage of the interview. Representatives of Oprah Winfrey Network confirmed that they were contacted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, asking about the footage of the interview. The team provided that specific episode and all episodes dealing with domestic violence between 1985 to 1990."Approximately 20 episodes were made available for the committee members to view in confidence," a network spokeswoman stated in an email. "OWN did not provide copies or transcript of the episodes and has not provided information about the identities of anyone who appeared in these episodes. Given information of this investigation has been made public by the committee, OWN is making this statement to be clear about what the company provided to congressional investigators."Domestic violence accusations from an ex-wife, unfair treatment towards immigrant workers and a record of sexual harassment, Puzder had many red flags against him. That’s why it comes as no surprise that he finally decided to withdraw when he was discovered that he also lied about communicating with Russian officials. In a statement provided to the Associated Press, Pudzer wrote he was “honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and business back on path to sustainable prosperity.” Earlier this week, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn also resigned.Two down a few more to go. Never underestimate the power of Muva O.Photo:...