Florida's Secretary of State Michael Ertel officially resigned from his post on Thursday after disturbing images of him dressed in blackface mimicking a Hurricane Katrina victim appeared online.
In a state where suppression of minority voting is at issue, this is the man Florida thought best to oversee elections. Reminder: 1,833 Americans died in Katrina, many in black middle- and working-class neighborhoods like Gentilly and the Lower 9th Ward. https://t.co/jYbSVMgSrX
— David Simon (@AoDespair) January 24, 2019
According to The Tallahassee Democrat, the photos were taken at a private Halloween party 14 years ago, when Ertel, 49, served as a Florida county election supervisor. The images just resurfaced online this week.
Ertel confirmed the photos were of him. The pictures show the politician dressed in blackface and red lipstick, wearing earrings, a New Orleans Saints bandanna and a purple shirt with "Katrina Victim" written on it. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said he hadn't seen the photos until this week when members of the Florida Democratic Party shared the images with him.
During a press conference on Thursday, Governor DeSantis accepted Ertel's resignation, mainly because "I don't want to get mired in side controversies."
"It's unfortunate. He's done a lot of good work," DeSantis added.
The former public relations professional was appointed by the newly elected governor in December 2018, according to The Orlando Weekly.
Ertel's resignation comes just days after DeSantis, who barely won a contentious campaign riddled with accusations of racism, bragged about the diversity of his appointees at a Black church on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Miami Herald reports.
"I don't want to just be putting people in from some good ol' boys network. I want to be putting people in from all walks of life," DeSantis said. "And I think if you look at my total appointments, I don't think there's any peer recently, at least in Florida, of the number of African Americans we've put in."
Ertel declined to comment further on the matter. In his resignation letter to Governor DeSantis, he wrote, "It has been an honor to serve you and the voters of Florida."
Mike Ertel has resigned as Florida Secretary of State as the @TDOnline reported. Here's his resignation letter. pic.twitter.com/V03hGG5a8s
— Ryan Gillespie (@byRyanGillespie) January 24, 2019
Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news.
Now, check these out:
Rep. Elijah Cummings To Lead New House Oversight Committee Investigation Into Trump Administration
Oklahoma University Football Players Protest Racism After Two Blackface Videos Rattle The Campus
Naomi Osaka Responds After Japanese Noodle Company Whitewashes Her In Advertisement
