Gahanna candidate answers for social media posts
In last week’s Gahanna mayoral primary, 26 year-old newcomer Joseph Gergley surprised many by beating the field. He took first place with 34 percent of the vote. Veteran councilman Tom Kneeland, 62, placed second with 28 percent of the vote. The two will square off against each other in November’s general election.
Not long after the votes came in, people began taking a closer look at Gergley’s social media history. Some have been disturbed by a number of the posts that were revealed. Two examples from Twitter:
- “The Easton Walmart might as well be Ferguson.”
- “If I saw Kurt from Glee in real life, I would bully him and tell him ‘it gets worse’.” (referring to a gay character from the series)
Gergley’s twitter account has since been deleted. He tried to explain away the posts by saying that he wrote them in college, that they were meant to be sarcastic and that they’ve been taken out of context. Since that explanation, more questionable messages have come to light. Not everyone has gone for Gergley’s original response. Monday, he returned to social media to address the issue again in a different way. His statement on Facebook says, in part:
“When read out of context, some of my social media posts from high school and college are insensitive. Others of them read either in or out of context are absolutely uncalled for. Hypothetical or not, fictional characters or not, sarcastic or not, high school and college years or not, they are unacceptable and I deeply apologize. I am truly sorry.”
– Joseph Gergley, Gahanna mayoral candidate
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