By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP — Despite Hobie Young’s assertion that he never resigned, Upper Township Committee filled his seat Monday, Nov. 9, after hearing from three applicants for the position.
Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution naming Kim Hayes to replace Young. She was sworn in immediately.
According to Committeeman Curtis Corson, a Republican who won re-election last week, committee members had to act. Otherwise, Gov. Phil Murphy would have the option to appoint someone to the seat.
That pick would have had to have been a Republican, Corson said, but township officials did not want to relinquish local control. Township Committee had a choice among three candidates recommended by the Cape May County Republican Committee. All three of those nominated were women.
Before the vote Monday, Young said if he is successful in legal action to keep his seat, the appointee would need to step down.
Young drew a firestorm of condemnation after sharing altered images of Sen. Kamala Harris of California, now the vice president-elect of the United States. She is the first woman and the first person of color elected to the position, along with a number of other firsts.
During the hard-fought election campaign, Young shared two memes on his Facebook account depicting Harris in sexually explicit poses.
After a weekend of growing condemnation, Young announced he would resign his position, effective immediately. But by the next Township Committee meeting, after the growth of an online group supporting him, Young said he never formally resigned and wanted to remain in the post.
In a recent interview, Young still sounded uncertain about the next step, even after telling his fellow committee members he would see them in court.
“I got a lawyer. We’re going to see where things go for a little bit,” he said. “We haven’t really made a game plan.”
Young said he sent a text message to the township clerk about his intention to resign, but he denies that amounts to a resignation. He said he was told he needed to submit a signed letter in writing. But at the last committee meeting, attorney Frank Corrado, hired by the township to advise in the matter, gave his opinion that the seat was vacant.
“I don’t want to leave. It’s going to wind up in court,” Young said.
He said it’s galling that his years on committee and decades as a volunteer would end ignominiously.
He said he told the township he rescinded his resignation, but there is no indication the other members of the all-Republican committee have any intention of accepting him back.
Young still indicated he was not certain if he would press on. He said he was still trying to decide “whether it’s worth the fight or not.”
Young described the condemnation of the posts as a “political hit-job,” and said it upset his wife and daughter. In previous public comments, he asserted he was bullied. Young said opponents sought to file obscenity charges, which the county prosecutor said were not viable because of First Amendment protections. People sought to have his pension canceled, which he said he needs, and he said some left hurtful messages alluding to his son’s death.
For Young’s part, he maintains the images were political, not sexual. Supporters speaking at a public meeting suggested anyone who thought otherwise had a “dirty mind.”
“They weren’t about women. They were about Kamala Harris and how she got to where she is,” Young said.
But while many of those calling for his resignation were Democrats, his fellow Republicans on Township Committee were just as strong in their repudiation. Corson criticized the images even while praising Young’s decision to resign, and Palombo described them as offensive.
In a recent interview, Young said they were no worse than things he has seen posted from the left about First Lady Melania Trump.
