The Democratic mayor of Petersburg, Va., has denounced all critics of his leadership as racist Republicans in a bizarre email replete with many grammatical errors.

Petersburg, a city of just 32,000 people, is battling severe budgetary issues. It has an expected budget deficit of $12 million and over $19 million in unpaid bills. The city is even in danger of losing its garbage pick-up service because of missed payments to the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority.

But Mayor W. Howard Myers says the many people critical of his administration are simply racists out to take him. And he makes his claim in a leaked email that are suggests he is barely literate in the English language.

The letter, initially distributed only to members of the city council, is produced below:

Petersburg mayor letter

The grammar of the letter is so atrocious that at times it’s difficult to deduce what Myers actually wants to say. Some of the most baffling lines include:

“Our economic and financial development is in crisis and until this Council set aside the foolishness of one and Facebook cronies, we will not be able to move forward.”

“No one Council member does it alone as always regurgitated

I will as the representative of Ward 5 and as Mayor duly to my right hand, serve the Public without blemish and from scare tactics from a few racists and Republicansupporters.”

“Vote your conscious not your election. “

“Please be advised and understanding of the significant pressures we as Council Members are being adhered too, as well as being bullied and forced to make unlike leadership decisions.”

At the end of the letter, Myers declares in all caps “I AM PETERSBURG.”

Since the letter was published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Myers has refused to back down from the letter, or its oddball grammar.

“As a staunch member of the Democratic Party … I respect all people, however, I stand by the verbiage I submitted to Council,” he said Thursday, according to local WWBT News.

The same day, Petersburg had $390,000 in firefighting equipment repossessed because the city hadn’t paid for it, even though the city received a special grant from the federal government to purchase it.

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