The mayor of an affluent Southern California community caught on surveillance camera tossing a bag of dog poop into a neighbor's yard has resigned, he confirmed to NBC4 on Tuesday.
Dennis Kneier, the mayor of San Marino, announced his resignation, effective Tuesday.
"I thought it would be the very best thing for us to move forward and have a reorganization and have a new mayor," he said in an interview at his doorstep.
Vice Mayor Eugene Sun will assume mayoral responsibilities through June 27, when the council is next scheduled to meet.
At that meeting, the council will select a new mayor and vice mayor.
Kneier will remain on the City Council until his term ends in November 2015.
In his letter, Kneier cited continuing public fallout and embarrassment stemming from a June 7 incident in which he admitted to discarding a bag of dog feces on a neighbor’s private walkway.
Kneier was cited for littering by the San Marino Police Department.
"This has been a challenging few days for our city and we're hopeful that with Mr. Kneier's decision, and with his public and private expressions of regret for the incident, we can move forward," Sun said.
Kneier apologized, saying he suffered a moment of bad judgment.
The original owner of the waste has not been identified.
