Small-town Alberta politician Wayne Niblow has resigned after being charged with possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Irricana councillor Niblow, 36, was arrested in Brooks on May 25 with 107 grams of crack, reports Medicine Hat News.
He resigned on June 14, telling the Edmonton Sun his decision to leave office is directly related to the charges and "an effort to save my town the publicity."
“I had to resign,” Niblow told the Sun.
“They were concerned it would bring a black mark on the community ... I informed them as soon as I came out of jail.
“I wanted to make sure my peers knew what came down.”
In a statement, the town noted Niblow was quitting office for “personal reasons."
Coun. Josh Taylor told the Calgary Herald he encouraged Niblow to focus on his legal problems.
“He cannot be focused on his defence and on his abilities as a councillor,” Taylor said.
“It is more important, in my opinion, that he is more focused on his defence.”
Niblow, according to the Herald, served on Irricana's town council for the past five months. His stint began by acclamation, following the resignation of councillor Andrew Carr.
“It was very hard to get anyone to run, basically,” Taylor told the Herald, adding, “you can’t say ‘shining star’ when he’s the only guy running."
Niblow's problems come just weeks after the Toronto Star reported two of their journalists watched a video that shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking what appears to be crack.
Ford has dismissed the allegations as "ridiculous."
Also on HuffPost