Who is Craig Shubert? Hudson mayor resigns after he links ice fishing to prostitution
The mayor of a small town in Ohio has resigned after making controversial remarks linking ice fishing to prostitution, which he called a failed attempt at dry humor. Craig Shubert, the mayor of Hudson tendered his resignation from the largely ceremonial post. On Monday, February 14, he submitted his resignation letter to the city’s clerk.
Shubert made national headlines last week for suggesting during a Tuesday, February 8, city council meeting that allowing ice fishing at a local park could lead to prostitution, such an act by the mayor was not well appreciated and it went viral. Recently, the Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg survived an assassination attempt. Then there was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who faced criticism for attending the Super Bowl LVI on Feb 13 maskless despite California having an indoor mask mandate. Meanwhile, NYC mayor Eric Adams was trolled after he urged for a ban on drill rap and blamed it for rise in violent crimes.
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“Does someone come back next year and say I want an ice shanty on Hudson Springs Park for X amount of time?” Shubert said during a city meeting. “And if you then allow ice fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem. Prostitution. Now you’ve got the police chief and the police department involved.”
Hudson mayor thinks ice fishing leads to prostitution! Put your poles away boys!*
— Amanda Weinstein (@ProfWeinstein) February 9, 2022
*Same guy who thinks creative writing classes are child pornography. pic.twitter.com/9N0R2tVri6
Shubert's comments went viral and led to him being ridiculed on social media. In order to resolve the issue, he later issued a clarification, saying that his statements “were made out of concern for our community; what could become of unintended consequences of new legislation, based on my prior television news reporting experience.” He added: “My attempt to inject a bit of dry humor to make a point about this, in the midst of a cold, snowy February, was grossly misunderstood. Some in our community saw this as an opportunity to engage in the politics of personal destruction by means of character assassination, blaming me for the negative international press they helped to promote.”
Who is Craig Schubert?
Shubert is a former journalist and has 32 years of experience in marketing, sales and global business with a number of Northeast Ohio companies behind him. The former mayor has traveled to 31 countries and to get into politics because of the political division in the country. Shubert didn't get elected to the Ohio House but was elected as Hudson mayor in 2019.
In his resignation statement, Shubert told, “When I entered the race for mayor in 2019, my objective was to bring about change. To shake up city council and our city administration, to return Hudson to its core conservative values, and to focus on the needs of our community; not the wants of a few.” Shubert said that he had always planned to retire, especially after the death of his wife in September.
He wrote in his statement that “my role as a change agent is complete.” Shubert had been known to make outlandish statements in the past. Last fall, he claimed that a high school creative writing class used a textbook that contained child pornography. His statements led to threats being made against school board members even though there was no child pornography used in the class. In a review, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh's office rebuked Shubert’s claims of child pornography and the scores of threats against school board members that followed.
In a statement, Hudson City Council President Chris Foster said he and his fellow colleagues appreciate Shubert’s service as mayor, according to the Beacon Journal. “City Council appreciates the time and dedication that Mayor Shubert has put in to serving the citizens of Hudson,” Foster said. “We respect his decision and wish him the best in the future.”