COLORADO CITY, Texas — As communities in Texas continue to dig out and pray for heat and electricity, the mayor of Colorado City, Texas, had harsh words for his constituents.
On a post on a local Facebook group, the mayor responded to a post that was asking if firefighters would be able to fight fires with no water, The Washington Post reported.
Mayor Tim Boyd wrote “No one owes you your family anything,” Boyd wrote in the now-deleted post that was published by KTXS and KTAB. “I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout. If you don’t have electricity you step up and come up with a game plan to keep your family warm and safe. If you have no water you deal with out [sic] and think outside of the box to survive and supply water to your family. If you were sitting at home in the cold because you have no power and are sitting there waiting for someone to come rescue you because your [sic] lazy is direct result of your raising! Only the strong will survive and the week will perish.”
He prefaced the post with “Let me hurt some feelings while I have a minute,” according to a screengrab by KTAB.
KTXS said Boyd made the comments out of frustration over being called with complaints about power outages and the lack of water.
He also told “lazy” residents to find their own water and electricity, The Washington Post reported.
Hours later, Boyd resigned from his position, saying he could have “used better wording.”
Tuesday afternoon, Boyd wrote, according to KTXS, “I would never want to hurt the elderly or anyone that is in true need of help to be left to fend for themselves. I was only making the statement that those folks that are too lazy to get up and fend for themselves but are capable should not be dealt a handout. I apologize for the wording and some of the phrases that were used!”
About 4,000 people live in Colorado City, out of the 3.3 million residents of the Lone Star State. State officials run Texas’ power grid in order to not be under federal oversight, the Post reported.
State officials have told residents to stay home until power is restored.
Cox Media Group
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