CUMMING, Ga. — Over the weekend, screenshots of posts made by a Twitter account associated with Bibi Lopez, a candidate running for the Forsyth County Board of Education, began to surface causing a stir in local politics.
Several of the tweets contained derogatory language towards women such as saying "is it appropriate to ask a stranger (a woman) if I can stick my head between her fun bags" and "too much eye candy at school orientation". The comments appear to have been made several years ago, and the account they were posted to can no longer be found on Twitter.
Tweets associated with BOE candidate
On Sunday, Lopez issued a statement confirming that the posts were made by him in the past and that he "much more than these tweets or this mistake". In the statement, Lopez also accuses his opponent, Lindsey Adams, of releasing the screenshots.
"Over the weekend my opponent’s team posted insensitive comments that I have made in the past on social media," wrote Lopez. "I have publicly apologized for the insensitive comments and am greatly ashamed and saddened by the hurt I caused."
Adams has denied that her or her team were in any way involved in the release of the images, releasing the following statement:
"When I was shown the comments made by my opponent, Bibi Lopez, devaluing women and undergrad girls - I was in utter shock. I initially did not think they were real due to the graphic and vile context.
That said I would call on Bibi to officially withdraw from the race. I would also ask any community leader, particularly our Board of Commissioner Chairwoman who is the only elected official who has endorsed and supports Bibi Lopez, to truly take the time and recognize how this reflects on Forsyth County."
Current Forsyth County Commission Chairman Laura Semanson, who had previously expressed support for Lopez, took to her social media page on Sunday writing this:
"Any of you who have known me on a true personal level for any amount of time know that I have an extremely diverse (in all aspects) network of friends and family that I love and respect...Politics is an ugly sport, a blood sport, and it tears apart communities, friendships, and families. It should not be that way."
Forsyth County Republican Party chairman, Patrick Bell says the posts made by Lopez do not represent their party and he wants to make sure the public understands that.
"The comments were inappropriate, degrading to women, and due to the content, of great concern," said Bell. "It is important to strongly state, the Forsyth County Republican Party does not condone the comments and they do not reflect the values of our local party nor the Republican Party as a whole."
Lopez and Adams are facing off in the Republican primary for the BOE seat currently held by Nancy Roche. No Democrat qualified for the race, which means whoever wins the primary will take the seat. Roche announced last year that she would not be re-running. She has held the seat since 2011.
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