Patsy Capshaw Skipper, the mayor of Midland City, Alabama, lost her bid for election to former assistant city clerk Jo Ann Bennett Grimsley. What was the cause of the loss? Maybe there’s a clue on Skipper’s Facebook page. When asked by a Facebook friend how the election went, Patsy typed, “I lost. The n*gger won.”
Skipper lost the contest 292-148, Grimsley getting 233 votes and Lamar Spence getting 59. She was never actually elected mayor in the first place, having been given the office by the city council when her husband, Mayor Virgil Skipper, retired for health reasons. Skipper denied writing the offensive word on her Facebook page, but screenshots of it have appeared on the internet.
In a paroxysm of remorse and second thoughts, Skipper said about Grimsley, “I hope she does a great job for the city and I am very happy for her.” But Arlissa Minniefield, a former Midland City magistrate, called for Skipper’s immediate resignation as mayor. “It’s appalling,” Minniefield said. “As a former employee there, to know that you worked under people that had those kinds of feelings is very disheartening.”
Too bad you lost, Patsy. Better luck next time. Maybe your best chance to be elected mayor is to travel back in time 100 years.