North Carolina Councilman Resigns…In Klingon
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There are a lot of ways you can earn serious geek cred. Maybe you won a string of cosplay contents for your meticulously recreated costume of Station from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. Maybe you once defeated William Shatner in Dramatic Pause-Off. But I’m afraid one particular bucket-list item has been checked off, because a city councilman from North Carolina has resigned in Klingon.
When councilman David Waddell of Indian Trail, NC, made the decision to resign his position, he decided to have “one last laugh” on his way out. He tendered his resignation with two letters: the first was written to the community he served, describing his reasons for stepping down, including “runaway development in the town as well as concerns with how requests for public information were being handled.”
The second letter was the one written in Klingon, and it went to city Mayor Michael Alvarez. The mayor was not amused, telling the Charlotte Observer, “It’s an embarrassment for Indian Trail, and it’s an embarrassment for North Carolina. Cool down, buddy, it’s not like he wrote it in Tholian. Practically everybody speaks Klingon these days.1
As for Waddell, he said, “Folks don’t know what to think of me half the time,” so “I might as well have one last laugh.” You can see the text of Waddell’s letter to the mayor — with a handy translation — below.
Sadly, it doesn’t sound like Waddell is a native Klingon speaker. Apparently he turned to Bing.com when it came time to translate the letter into the warrior race’s native tongue. We’re not going to outright say that’s cheating, but if he had to consult Klingon for Dummies he should have at least handed in the letter while dressed in full Klingon regalia. Although if he tried to enter the mayor’s office carrying a bat’leth there’s a good chance he would have been tazed/pepper sprayed/shot. But a real Klingon would shrug that shit off no problem. I’m just sayin’. Do as Worf would do.
Waddell’s resignation takes effect on January 31, and would otherwise have run through December 15. The council will figure out how to find a replacement for Waddell later this month or early in February. I just hope they remember to warn the unemployment office that a Klingon warrior is coming.
1. Citation needed.↩
