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Political newcomer David Kezafrika, who was seeking one of the two open village trustee seats while running on the Working Families Party (WFP) line, came under scrutiny after TheExaminerNews.com published several posts Kezafrika admitted making on a Twitter account.
Kezafrika later apologized, saying: “It was never my intention to offend or otherwise add to the discourse of adversity and hatred that is already too prevalent in our country. I am a son, a brother, and an uncle and I respect all women."
Within the last year, more than a dozen posts referencing rape, race, women and drugs were discovered on Kezafrika’s Twitter page under the handle MajorGloryus. Kezafrika used inappropriate language and made crude, disparaging remarks about women including single mothers, according to The Examiner News.
“Why do some of the good looking on the dating sites all have kids?! It’s bad enough that they are Hispanic and black. It says a lot about those minorities. Guys have to put up with even more,” one tweet said.
“Stop letting ni—gas hit just because they bought you a meal,” another tweet read.
Kezafrika also posted that an influx of white people makes him feel uneasy, that “white unsuccessful people are trash," and how “anything is possible when you sound white on the phone."
"These statements are not consistent with the values of the Working Families Party. We support David Kezafrika’s decision to withdraw from the race and issue an apology," the WFP said in a press statement.
“I thank the Working Families Party for believing in my ability as a candidate. I hope this will allow the community to focus on what’s truly at stake," Kezafrika said while withdrawing from the race.
Elected officials condemned Kezafrika’s posts, including Ossining Mayor Victoria Gearity, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 6. She called the tweets shocking and disturbing.
"These kind of offensive and degrading remarks have no place in Ossining local government,” Gearity said. “Comments that disparage women and those of different races have no place in Ossining Village government."
Ossining Trustee Rika Levin, who was being challenged by Kezafrika in the upcoming election, said she doesn’t know Kezafrika very well, but found his posts sexist and racist.
Ossining Trustee Omar Herrara, who is running for village mayor on the WFP line, said Kezafrika demonstrated poor judgment and that his posts were offensive, inappropriate and very unfortunate.
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