An upstate New York builder and former Republican nominee for governor is facing possible removal from his seat on the Buffalo Board of Education for making racial slurs about President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

The school board was scheduled to hold a special meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the conduct of Carl Paladino, a board member who ran unsuccessfully for N.Y. governor in 2010.

Paladino created a firestorm last week when he sent an email to the newspaper Artvoice, saying he hopes "Obama catches mad cow disease after being caught having relations with a Her(e)ford."