Republican mayor sparks fury with ‘horrifying’ post about Texans in freezing temperatures without electricity

The Republican mayor of a Texas town who ranted at residents that he owed them “nothing”, during a winter storm which has killed at least twenty-one people and left millions without electricity, has prompted outrage online.

Whilst the local government website and recent city council agenda’s still lists the man as mayor of Colorado City, Tim Boyd has now resigned.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, which he has since deleted, he wrote: “Let me hurt some feelings for a minute.

“No one owes you [or] your family anything.

“I’m sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!”

He said people waiting in their homes to have their power restored were “lazy”, and that the “strong will survive and the weak will [perish].”

He went on to blame the “socialist government” - although it’s unclear which government he’s referring to - and said “I’ll be damned if I am going to provide for anyone that is capable of doing it themselves!”

Boyd ended with the message to “quit crying” and “get off your ass and take care of your own family”.

In a second post, he said he “won’t deny for one minute” anything he said in the previous post, but complained that his wife had faced harassment while adding that he had resigned from his position.

Texas’ inability to provide uninterrupted utility service to millions of residents is partly due to the state’s decision to operate its own power grid in an effort to avoid federal regulation.

When the news provider ET Breaking News shared a screenshot of the Mayor’s Facebook rant on Twitter, users were outraged.

One sardonic observer wrote: “Wow. With an attitude like that it’s amazing the species ever made it out of the hunter/gather phase.”

Another person said: “Wait the people who they pay to provide them the services... don’t actually owe them the service?!?

Someone else sorrowfully observed: “I think the saddest part is that he only voices what a lot of elected officials likely genuinely believe about their constituents. Chilling stuff.”

One Twitter user suggested: “With global warming and climate change intensifying, Texas and most Southern states will have to deal with situations like this on a regular. Sadly, they aren’t ready. After spending decades denying it, they have done nothing to mitigate its impact on their constituents. Good Luck”

Another added: “I hope people remember this when they start pulling dead little old people from their homes who had no way of taking care of themselves and just froze to death. Yes if you can, take care of yourself and your relatives. But some people have NO ONE to depend on to get them help!”

And someone else had a suggestion to avoid future offensive outbursts in the future, chipping in : “It’s time for Texas to implement standard IQ tests before someone can run for office.”

The extreme weather forecast in Texas is set to continue until the weekend, with the state experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in more than thirty years.