Angling may lead to hookers, according to Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert, who argued his unique position during a city council workshop on Tuesday.
Following several minutes of discussion on whether ice fishing should be permitted at Hudson Springs Park, home to a 50-acre lake, Shubert urged council members to consider the implications of approving such an act, as it could open a sex-for-cash Pandora's Box.
"If you open this up to ice fishing—while on the surface it sounds good—then what happens next year? Does someone come back and say I want an ice shanty on Hudson Springs Park for 'x' amount of time?" the Hudson mayor asked, gazing slowly around the room.
"And if you then allow ice fishing with shanties, then that leads to another problem: prostitution," Shubert said, appearing to stun Council President Chris Foster, shown in the same frame. "Now you got the police department involved."
"Just data points to consider," suggested the small town mayor, who's position is merely ceremonial.
After a moment of awkward silence, council member Chris Banweg elicited chuckles from his colleagues by proclaiming, "Okay. So, I'm not in favor of shanties."
Foster is then seen smiling as he carefully places his hand on Shubert's shoulder.
As of this article's publication, the ceremonial mayor's remarks have accrued hundreds of thousands of views across social platforms.
Shubert's semi-viral moment comes just a few months after Summit County prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh accused him of "reckless conduct" that resulted in "threats, fear, and hate-filled words from around the country."
The accusation related to the mayor calling for several school board members to resign or face criminal charges for allowing what he characterized as "child pornography" into a college-level writing course taken by seniors in high school.
The book in question was "642 Things to Write About," a collection of writing prompts that, at the time, had been in use for at least five years by the school system. The prompts, which do not contain images of child pornography, included three "adult" scenarios: two including sex and one including alcohol.
None of the three prompts had been selected in previous years, and all three included a waiver requiring parents to sign off on adult themes.
Despite threats toward school board officials, the Summit County prosecutor's office did not charge Shubert.