Post about VP candidate Kamala Harris drew outrage in Upper Township, beyond
By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – Facing a firestorm of criticism after reposting sexually explicit memes depicting vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Upper Township Committeeman Hobie Young has resigned, effective immediately.
Critics lambasted the images as deeply misogynistic. Calls for his resignation had grown over the weekend, especially on Facebook, where the controversy began.
“My apologies for anyone this offended,” Young said on Monday. He said the posts were made to his personal page and that they related to politics, denying that they were motivated by racism or any disregard for women.
“It had nothing to do with her color or her gender,” Young said.
Young shared the images from the pages of other Facebook users on Oct. 8 and 9, the first showing a cut-out of the California senator’s head superimposed in a sexually explicit position over a campaign logo supporting presidential candidate Joe Biden. The other was an image from the vice presidential debate Oct. 7, in which another woman’s open legs were crudely photoshopped under the seated Harris, with the text “for those wondering where the fly came from,” an apparent reference to a fly that landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s head during the debate.
Upper Township resident Danielle Davies shared the posts to her own page on Sunday.
“Every sing(l)e time posts like this show up from our elected officials, it is a slap in the face to all the women — young and old — living here in our township. It doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum you are on…this is about human decency,” she wrote.
On Monday, Davies said she had heard from many women in the township angry about Young’s sharing the images before she posted her comments. She said this was not the first time she was taken aback by a post from Young.
“He’s posted things like this before,” she said. She described a post from last year as “show-stoppingly vulgar” but would not discuss its contents. “Women are tired of constantly being sexualized and portrayed this way. It’s just disgusting.”
Her post saw hundreds of comments and shares. A few comments supported Young, but the overwhelming majority derided Young and called for an apology or his resignation. Officials in the township said they received multiple calls and emails.
Davies is a former Democratic candidate for the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Mayor Rich Palombo, a Republican like Young and the other members of the Township Committee, also took issue with the posting.
“I’m personally offended by it,” he said on Monday. He said the other members of the township governing body also disavowed the posts.
“Township Committee is taking the issue regarding the offensive posts very seriously. We don’t condone those type of posts,” he said. “I fully anticipate Hobie Young resigning.”
In an interview on Monday, Young said he would resign immediately.
“It was a mistake. I recognize it,” Young said. “It’s better that I step down at this point instead of fighting the fight.”
Young said he cares too much about the township to remain as the controversy continues to build.
It will be up to the Township Committee to appoint a replacement to fill Young’s seat, choosing one of three names to be submitted by the Upper Township Republican Committee. That person will serve until the next election, when candidates can run for the remaining year of the term.
“I don’t anticipate anything happening until after the election,” Palombo said.
Palombo and Committeeman Ed Barr are also up for re-election next year. This year, Committeeman Curtis Corson is on the ballot, facing Democrat Jon Amenhauser.
Whether the controversy has an effect on the race will depend on what happens next, Amenhauser said on Monday.
“I’m not running against Hobie Young,” he said. But he added that he, too, found the post offensive, saying so should anyone.
“I denounce it, obviously. Not only on my own behalf, but for my wife, my mom and my sisters,” he said. “It was obviously sexist.”
In a statement, Corson wrote that Young “took the only course available to him by tendering his resignation.
“The post was vile and disgusting and does not reflect my values or those of my campaign.
As the father of a daughter and the grandfather of a new baby girl I found the post both inappropriate and offensive.
“It is tragic to see an unblemished 40-year career ended by a rant on social media,” Corson continued. “Committeeman Young was a champion of youth and recreation programs in Upper Township his entire life. he will be missed by many.
“While what he did was dishonorable,” Corson wrote, “he did the honorable thing by tendering his resignation today.
Young took down the posts on Sunday evening.
In comments posted earlier, Young called the images satire, and suggested worse has been posted about President Trump and his family.
“It appears I have offended a few liberals with two satire pictures of Kamala Harris. I didn’t see them as being anything different than the left’s pictures of Trump, Melania and their family. So my apologies if you took them as being offensive. I struggle with dealing with double standards. My post in Facebook is my personal page and in no way represents Upper Township,” he wrote as the controversy began.
Davies said political parties do not enter the discussion, and that she would also call out a Democrat for a similar post, all the more so if that Democrat were an elected official.
“I think that everything that’s degrading to women is offensive,” she said. “This matters.”
She said township residents should be grateful to Young for his service, and praised his response to COVID-19 as the committeeman heading up sports and recreation programs. His committee assignments also included public works and public buildings and grounds.
Young has long been involved in the township’s baseball and football programs. He took office in 2014, along with Committeeman John Coggins, after a successful primary challenge against Republican incumbents Corson and Jay Newman in 2013, cinching the nomination and easily winning the general election.
Both sides of the political divide have been fired up after a parade of vehicles supporting Trump came through the township on Sunday. She said the parade energized supporters of the president, but also energized critics, especially when one of the participating vehicles flew a Confederate flag.
Young had also posted about the parade on his Facebook page, including a meme criticizing a lack of media coverage for similar events. On Monday, his page settings were changed so that none of his posts were public.