LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) _ The mayor of a small Southern California city has resigned after being criticized for sending an e-mail showing watermelons in front of the White House.
Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose faced calls for his resignation when he forwarded an e-mail showing a watermelon patch on the White House lawn under the title: “No Easter egg hunt this year.''
Grose says he wasn't aware of the racial stereotype that blacks like watermelon. But he hasn't explained why he thought the e-mail was funny.
He says in a letter dated Monday that he's resigning from City Council “for the love of my community and the health and well-being of my family.''
The mayor is a council member elected to the post annually by other council members. Grose's council term was set to end in 2010.
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