Trafford councilman says he will not resign over comment regarding health secretary's gender

A Trafford councilman said he is sticking around after a fellow council member asked him to resign over derogatory Facebook comments regarding Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine.

Zack Cole last month responded to a Father’s Day greeting post on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Facebook page by wishing a Happy Father’s Day to Levine, a transgender woman with two children from a previous marriage.

He responded to critics on Facebook by saying the comment was a joke.

His Facebook page has since been deleted or hidden.

At Tuesday’s borough council meeting, which was held via the Zoom videoconferencing platform, councilwoman Leslie Peters condemned Cole’s comments and called for his resignation.

“I feel, personally, he does need to resign, because he broke his oath of office, and I do not agree with his statement that his constituents understood that it was a joke, because obviously the people have spoken,” she said.

Two members of the public submitted comments to the meeting criticizing Cole.

“His statement was rude, immature, and shows he does not respect people different from himself,” resident Michelle Klingensmith said in a letter submitted to council.

“If it was an employee we would have to fire them,” Peters said.

Cole said he would retain his seat.

“I will not be resigning,” he said. “As many of you know, I will be up for reelection next year, so we can let the voters of Trafford decide.”

Other members of council did not weigh in on the subject. Council President Kris Cardiff interjected only to end a spat between Peters and Cole, who began arguing after Peters’ comments.

“This is a time for new business, not for arguing and grilling,” Cardiff said, ending the discussion.

Last month, Scott Township commissioner Paul Abel resigned under intense criticism after a public meeting in which he referred to Levine as “a guy dressed up like a woman.”

More than 200 township residents signed a letter calling for Abel’s resignation, along with 236 people from outside the township.