(New Buffalo, MI) - People behind the effort to recall New Buffalo Mayor John Humphrey paint him as a nuclear bomb leaving the local economy in ruins by detonating over Chicago.  The portrayal was contained in a picture of Humphrey smiling under a mushroom cloud from the make believe nuclear blast.

 

The image was printed on documents that Humphrey alleged contain false information in order to build support for recalling him and City Councilman Brian Flanagan.

 

Humphrey said the picture was created and sent to him as a joke by a friend after he moved from Chicago to New Buffalo in 2014.  He said the picture was meant to show him at peace and glad to be here away from the turmoil in Chicago.However, a caption under the picture distributed by his opponents describe his policies as the “nuclear option” for the city.  His opponents blame him for the recent ban on additional short term rentals which they claim will significantly hurt the local economy by discouraging tourists from the Chicago area.

 

Humphrey said the idea behind the ban is to help increase the number of full-time residents and build more of a year round economy.  He said he’s exploring his legal options because the picture was taken from his personal Facebook page without his authorization and used to depict him in a false manner.

 

“We’re looking at this overall for various legal things.  We don’t know exactly where we’re going yet,” he said.