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PalPark Mayor's Mom Was 'Protecting Son' In Racial Tirade, Supporters Say

In a city with one of the highest concentration of Korean immigrants in the U.S., you might not expect to hear the following words -- and especially not from relatives of the mayor.

Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo.

Palisades Park Mayor James Rotundo.

Photo Credit: James Rotundo

"Go to hell PALISADES PARK, let the GD Koreans have this F'n town," Palisades Park mayor James Rotundo's mother Lorraine Rotundo wrote on Facebook, according to multiple reports.

"All of us AMERICANS are so done. I am going to suggest that only English be spoken in our Boro Hall at least while an AMERICAN is still the mayor."

Two days after primary elections in which Rotundo was losing to opponent Councilman Chris Chung, his mom took to Facebook with the above racial tirade.

The race is the first contested primary mayoral one in the borough's history, and more than 100 provisional ballots still needed to be counted as of Thursday night.

Rotundo in a Facebook statement said his mother was "mortified and did not mean these hurtful things."

The mayor's supporters came through in the comment section saying she was doing the work of all moms: trying to protect her son.

"She loves u very much is what I got out of it! Once a mother always a mother!!! Good Luck 👍," one person wrote.

"Sometimes when we are upset or angry we lash out ranting with words without thinking or filters and Not with our true thoughts or beliefs," another said. An 81 year old Loving Mom is no exception. I know your mom is kind and did not mean any offense.. She was just being a (protective) MoM..."

Rotundo said he respects the Korean community and hopes everyone can accept his mom's apology.

Chung, formerly the elder Rotundo's neighbor, was “heartbroken” over the her post, NorthJersey.com reports.

“It’s not fair to put a whole community down, and it was just unjust,’’ he told the news outlet. 

“That was one of the bases for my campaign, and I want to make sure this type of behavior is not tolerated, and that we need to work together.”

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