In a surprising move, longtime Chicago politician Rickey Hendon stepped down Thursday afternoon, calling the city’s recent election of Rahm Emanuel as mayor a “Black political disaster.”

Known to many as “Hollywood” for his sparkling charisma, Hendon was frustrated that the leading Black candidate, former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, came in fourth place overall and trailed the winner in the Black vote.

“Tuesday was a Black political disaster! I can’t take it anymore,” Hendon wrote in a text message announcing his resignation.

Emanuel, President Obama’s former chief of staff, won both the election, with 55 percent of the vote, and 59 percent of the Black vote handily Tuesday evening.

Braun’s own political missteps —which included her accusing an opponent of being “strung out on crack”—seemed to seal her fate in the eyes of many Chicago voters, as she won only 21 percent of the Black vote and 9 percent of the vote overall.

Hendon himself was once a candidate for mayor early in the campaign before withdrawing to support Braun, who was chosen as the consensus candidate by the city’s African-American leaders.

Image:  Courtesy of Illinois General Assembly