ND Mayor Resigns After "Accidentally" Sending Attorney Lewd Video

They say you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, and this story features some similar elements - a tube with stuff coming out of it, and the inability to undo it.

The mayor of a town in North Dakota with just under 50,000 residents has stepped down after an incident between he and the city attorney went public.

Tom Ross, the (now-former) Mayor of Minot, North Dakota stepped down from his position on Wednesday afternoon after a very short-lived sexual harassment investigation related to a lewd video sent to a female city attorney back in January.

“I do take responsibility for this mistake. I tried to immediately correct it and was unable,” Ross said in a statement obtained by KFYR-TV, adding, “The decision I made falls in line with all my work on behalf of the City of Minot. I put my heart and soul into this community.”

City Attorney Stefanie Stalheim told investigators she had spoken to Ross about a police officer's suicide, but a few minutes later, she received a video from the mayor - absolutely going to town on himself. You know, wrestling the rooster. Dialing the rotary phone. Masturbating.

Ross then spoke to her again, telling Stalheim that he recorded the "sexy video for his girlfriend" during his lunch break and asked the attorney to delete the video and not mention the video of him taking matters into his own hands to anyone else.

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The ham-slapping mayor later told investigators with the city that his girlfriend's name starts with a 'C' so when he sent the video of him shucking his corn, he accidentally clicked 'City Attorney' from his contacts.

Two weeks later, Attorney Stalheim filed an official harassment report, asking for a formal apology from the mayor and his resignation.

As the investigation wrapped, it found that Mayor Ross “directly caused Stalheim’s inability to work in an environment free from unreasonable sexual harassment and created an offensive work environment.”

The city has 15 days to petition for a special election, otherwise the city council will appoint a mayor from the governing body.