The president of the Washington County branch of the NAACP yesterday urged the mayor and solicitor of the city of Washington, Pa., to resign, accusing them of stonewalling an investigation into accusations that the mayor wrote disparaging remarks about several black citizens.

After more than two months of contentious debate, Washington Mayor Kenneth Westcott for the first time yesterday acknowledged that he wrote a note headlined "Where's My Soap Box."

	Kenneth Westcott

In the note, Mr. Westcott wrote profane and insulting comments next to the names of some people who spoke at a Feb. 5 zoning hearing about a group home for pregnant teens. Next to one speaker's name he wrote: "Retarded."

Mr. Westcott inadvertently handed it over with a packet of material that was gathered by local NAACP officials at the end of the meeting.

One remark on the note particularly inflamed NAACP members and encapsulated the spirit of city hall, NAACP President Dean Ellis said.

"Who cares about you anyway?" he said, quoting the note. "This attitude sends a chilling message that if you speak out and exercise your constitutional rights at a public meeting, you will be maligned, ridiculed and demeaned by the power of public officials."

		Listen In Hear remarks by Dean Ellis, president of the Washington County branch of the NAACP, at a press conference calling on the mayor and solicitor of Washington to resign.

Yesterday, Mr. Westcott said the recent death of his brother put things into perspective for him, and persuaded him to admit to writing the note. He said he sent a letter to Mr. Ellis last week apologizing for the note and the delay in admitting it.

Mr. Westcott said he has no plans to resign. Washington City Solicitor Jeff Watson could not be reached.

Mr. Westcott said the stinging comments in the note were not meant as personal attacks on residents but as a criticism of the views they expressed. During the hearing, residents of a predominantly black neighborhood persuaded the city to reject a proposal from Arizona-based VisionQuest. Many of the residents were angry because the city initially approved the project at an earlier meeting with no public comment.

When members of the NAACP saw the note, the organization sought handwriting samples and other public documents from city hall in an effort to determine whose handwriting was in the note. Mr. Ellis said verbal and written requests for public documents were denied, ignored or stymied by city officials.

First, a city secretary informed officials that the request for documents had to be handled by Mr. Watson and had to be in writing. They also were told there was a five-day waiting period for the financial disclosure statements they had requested for city officials who had attended the hearing.

The documents for all five members of council and for Mr. Westcott eventually were provided, on Feb. 26. The NAACP had them analyzed by handwriting expert Michelle Dresbold of Pittsburgh's East End. The group paid a rate of $300 an hour to Ms. Dresbold, who pointed the finger at Mr. Westcott as the author.

Mr. Westcott said he hopes to put the matter behind him, but believes it's politically motivated. The two-term Democrat faces a tight re-election race in May against former Mayor L. Anthony Spossey.

"I wrote the notes -- it was my mistake," he said. "I naively thought it would go away."

Mr. Ellis called for an emergency council meeting by Thursday to address a public notice published by owners of the group home, who claim they now have project approval because the city failed to notify them in writing that their proposal was rejected.