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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb, who has sparred with state Republican leaders in recent weeks over his position on Iraq, has resigned form the state GOP executive committee.
Robb confirmed Tuesday that he sent a letter dated Oct. 7 to state Republican Party Chairman Rob Capehart resigning his position immediately.
"It's time for me to move on," Robb said. "I really don't want to get into the reasons. It was a combination of a lot of things over the past months."
Among the reasons, Robb said, was his recent vote for a resolution adopted by the South Charleston City Council calling on President Bush to withdraw American troops from Iraq as soon as possible.
Robb said he was motivated to write the three-page resolution after watching television one night and seeing that American government funds were being used to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure while his city has to scrape to obtain money for highway and bridge projects. He has been mayor of South Charleston for more than 30 years.
Robb, who won a Bronze Star for his Army service in Vietnam, has long opposed the Iraq war.
As one of five Republican electors last year, Robb threatened to withhold his vote from Bush because of his opposition to the war, Bush's tax cuts and other economic policies. Robb eventually voted for Bush.
Capehart said that he had not seen Robb's letter.
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