Superior Mayor to Address Resignation Demands after Obama Post

Dr. Von Hagel said that the Mayor is entitled to express his opinions freely, under the first amendment, but the reaction and consequences associated with that expression is part of accepting political office.

Fox News’s local affiliate said that pressure is now mounting against Hagen in Superior over the post. The Duluth News Tribune in April reported that Hagen campaigned on “improvement of Superior’s image”. “We’ve always been a community that’s welcoming to all people”.

“Do we still have freedom of speech in this country?”

“First of all, I am not resigning”, Hagen told the Superior Telegram on Tuesday.

A Wisconsin mayor has caused a firestorm of controversy after calling President Obama a Muslim in a Facebook post.

“Quite simply, these are really inappropriate comments”, city council member Graham Garfield says.

Garfield fears the mayor’s comments will alienate the city’s relationship with other groups and agencies. He said he recommended Hagen apologize, but “we have not talked about resignation”.

Obama in 2008 denounced the reverend who made those comments about America.

Paine is chairman-elect of the Douglas County Democratic Party and said he was out collecting signatures for his effort to be re-elected to the County Board when a friend shared Hagen’s comments on Monday.

Another city councilor on Tuesday said Hagen’s comments on Facebook are not a public issue. That is hate speech, and trying to hide hate speech behind “free speech” is very troubling. “I will admit that, but the fact of the matter is, like anyone, I have the right to express my feelings about that”.

This is his second stint in office; he first served as mayor from 1975 to 1987, then joined the administration of Gov. Tommy Thompson.