Credit: Jessica Gould

The deputy mayor in Mendham Township, N.J. resigned yesterday after he posted a screed on Facebook that referred to undocumented immigrants as “rabid, messy, mean raccoons.” Matt Katz, a WNYC reporter covering refugees, immigration and security, talks about the tensions and the fallout in the wealthy suburb.

@mattkatz00 explains what really prompted this Mendham deputy mayor to resign — it was not just angry citizens, but a newly-elected Democratic committeewoman, Amalia Duarte — elected this past year in an anti-Trump blue wave — got involved.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 13, 2018

A caller who was at last night’s Mendham Township meeting said it felt like a “watershed moment,” and that her friend said it feels like they now have a “progressive SWAT team” in the neighborhood, ready to organize.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) February 13, 2018

Here’s the moment when Deputy Mayor Rick Blood leaves town hall after resigning for his raccoons-as-immigrants Facebook post…anti-racism activists pose victoriously behind him. cc: @BrianLehrer Captured by @BobKarpDR: pic.twitter.com/em1UrBwhPj

— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) February 13, 2018