Thread: Senator could face expulsion for improper online behavior

Nebraska state senator could face expulsion for improper online behavior

Published January 26, 2017 Associated Press

FILE - In this March 29, 2016 file photo, Nebraska state Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion, speaks during debate in Lincoln, Neb. (AP)


LINCOLN, Neb. – A Nebraska state senator could face expulsion from the Legislature for a pattern of questionable behavior that includes cybersex on a state computer and posting a joke on Twitter implying that Women's March protesters are too unattractive to sexually assault.

Lawmakers on Wednesday will debate whether to expel state Sen. Bill Kintner from the Legislature, a move with no precedent in recent history.

Kintner announced Tuesday evening that he will hold a press conference before the scheduled vote to announce his future plans.
Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer said he's confident lawmakers will expel Kintner if he doesn't resign, although a long debate could delay the vote for several days.

Kintner drew fierce criticism Sunday when he retweeted Los Angeles talk show host Larry Elder, who mocked a picture of three women with signs protesting Donald Trump's comments about touching women inappropriately. Above the photo, Elder wrote: "Ladies, I think you're safe."

"We are in totally unchartered waters here," said state Sen. John Kuehn, a fellow conservative who has implored Kintner to resign.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, a longtime adversary of Kintner's, called his behavior "disgusting" and demanded that other senators pressure him to resign. Chambers has also said that the behavior is dragging Kintner's wife, who works for Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, through a series of public embarrassments. Ricketts has also called for Kintner to resign.

"This man... has no respect for his own wife," Chambers said.
Kintner did not respond to phone or text messages Tuesday seeking comment, but his office released a statement that said: "I understand my colleagues' concern about the retweet I sent this weekend. I am very troubled by the liberal activist campaign that is using my mistake on the tweet to escalate calls for my resignation."

He is an outspoken conservative Republican in the ostensibly nonpartisan Legislature, comprised of 32 Republicans, 15 Democrats, one Libertarian and Chambers, a liberal independent.

Kintner said he had not decided whether he'll stay in office or resign. In his statement, he argued that Chambers has been pushing to expel him from office since last summer.

"He has made it obvious that he will use any means, including lies and cheap shots at my wife and myself," the statement said, without elaborating.

Kintner admitted last year to having cybersex on a state computer with a woman who later tried to blackmail him, but refused to resign. His opponents at the time didn't have enough votes to expel him.

Lawmakers said they've been bombarded with calls, emails and letters from constituents outraged by Kintner's behavior. Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks said she has received so much correspondence that she couldn't work on other issues.

"We have a serious and continued pattern of bad behavior," she said.

Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus, who has urged Kintner to resign, warned against taking quick action against Kintner without allowing him due-process rights to defend himself.

"However bad the conduct is or was, the man has got a right to prepare a defense," Schumacher said.

Kintner's history of offensive statements has made even some of his conservative allies cringe.

In 2015, the Nebraska Latino American Commission condemned Kintner for repeatedly using an ethnic slur during a debate over allowing driver's licenses for certain youths brought to the country illegally.

Some were bemused and others offended by his 2013 comment to a newspaper, which asked him what he considered the biggest mystery. Kintner responded, "Women. No one understands them.

They don't even understand themselves."

Kintner, 56, was elected in 2012 to represent a largely rural and suburban district south of Omaha. He is up for re-election in 2018.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...-behavior.html

Oh my that is not good. But really, come on. Everyone's got free speech except some conservative guy? Give him a break on the tweet. As to the cybersex, I don't even know what that is. But unless it involves children, I don't think it's anyone's business but his.

. . . a pattern of questionable behavior that includes cybersex on a state computer and posting a joke on Twitter implying that Women's March protesters are too unattractive to sexually assault. . .

Cybersex | Definition of Cybersex by Merriam-Webster

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cybersex
Definition of cybersex: activity in which people become sexually excited by sending messages about sex to each other over the Internet.

I seem to remember that many govies in the Obama Administration spent hours watching porn at work.

http://www.alipac.us/f19/they-need-l...ll-day-311557/

Nebraska state senator quits after sexual assault retweet


By Ian Simpson
Reuters January 25, 2017
1 Comment

(Reuters) - Nebraska state Senator Bill Kintner resigned on Wednesday after he retweeted a disparaging post about women protesters holding signs criticizing comments U.S. President Donald Trump once made about sexual assault.

The Republican legislator stepped down ahead of a vote scheduled for Wednesday by fellow state lawmakers on whether to expel him. An expulsion would have been the first in the unicameral legislature's history.

"As much as my heart says to fight, my head says it's time to step away from the legislature," Kintner, 56, told a news conference.

He said he had hesitated because he knew his resignation, which takes effect on Monday, would be hailed as a victory by "the progressive liberal movement."

Kintner also was fined last year for having cybersex using a state computer.

Republican Governor Pete Ricketts said in a statement that Kintner had done the right thing and that he would move quickly to fill the vacancy.

Kintner, who has represented a district south of Omaha since 2012, was criticized after he retweeted on Sunday a post by conservative radio host Larry Elder that insulted protest marchers.

Elder's tweet included a photograph of three women at a weekend Women's March carrying signs protesting President Donald Trump's 2005 comments about grabbing women by the genitals, the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper reported.

"Ladies, I think you're safe," Elder wrote.

Kintner had argued that the posting was misconstrued and that the backlash he received for retweeting it was part of a "liberal activist campaign" against him, the newspaper said.

Kintner's Twitter account has since been deleted, as has the original tweet by Elder.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission had fined Kintner $1,000 in August for improper use of state property after he admitted having cybersex with a woman in 2015 using a state laptop.

At the time, Kintner resisted calls to step down from fellow politicians, including Ricketts, the newspaper reported.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nebraska-...165938652.html

Doporto: Women have right to cook, clean, 'get slapped'

Jessica Onsurez and Adrian C Hedden , Carlsbad Current-ArgusPublished 1:16 p.m. MT Jan. 24, 2017 | Updated 20 hours ago

(Photo: Facebook)


A Carlsbad city councilman's Facebook comment about women has garnered the ire of the national media after an interview with New Mexico news outlet KOB aired Monday.
J.R. Doporto, who was elected in 2014 to the Ward 2 seat, said that a Jan. 22 Facebook post where he stated women "have a right to get slapped" was blown out of proportion.
Doporto's post reads: "Just want to give a heads up to the women! You have rights! A right to cook and a right to clean.

Today is Sunday and the NFL playoffs our on! I suggest you stop your b!tch!ng/protesting during this time. Because you also have a right to get slapped!"

The post refers to the organized Women's March on Washington Jan. 21, and followed the inauguration of President Donald Trump whose own comments about women incited dialogue on women's rights across the country.

Doporto said in an emailed statement to the Current-Argus that women's rights should be taken seriously, and domestic violence is no laughing matter. His post and KOB's story have received hundreds of comments critical of the views expressed in the post.

"Reading through the responses really opened my eyes to how sensitive the nation is right now. People have strong opinions and are ready to share their thoughts especially on social media," Doporto said. "If I offended anyone I am sorry, as an elected official I owe you that."

Doporto said his apology also extends to his fellow Carlsbad leaders and said the negative reporting won't affect the way he does his job on the council.

"I am a very vocal person that likes to joke around. That is my character. I simply made a joke that 99 percent of my friends and family were OK with. Someone seen it in public and took offense to it, KOB blew it out of proportion," Doporto said, adding that the real issues in Carlsbad are being overshadowed by the attention being given to the media outlet's reporting.

"I hate that this post brought this negative attention to Carlsbad," Doporto said.


J.R. Doporto (Photo: Courtesy Photo)

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said in an emailed statement that while Doporto's comments were meant as a joke, the city takes domestic violence and women's rights very seriously.

"Over the past weekend, Mr. Doporto made a statement on his personal Facebook page which he said he intended to be a joke," Janway said. "Mr. Doporto has served as a member of city council for the past six years. Like all Americans, Mr. Doporto has a right to free speech, and may express any opinion he chooses, joking or otherwise.

"However, the views expressed by Mr. Doporto, even as a joke, are in no way reflective of my views, or the views of the City of Carlsbad, or the views of its residents. We want to stress that the City of Carlsbad does not, in any way, condone domestic violence or disrespect toward women."

Advocacy group petitions to unseat Doporto

It is unclear what kind, if any, official repercussions Doporto may face for his actions.

But a New Mexico advocacy group is hoping to see him step down.

Progress Now New Mexico started an online petition Tuesday demanding Doporto vacate his position on the council.

By about 4:30 p.m., 1,492 people had signed the online petition.

"So while millions of people marched this past weekend, and millions are on high alert as their rights are jeopardized by Trump and his ilk at the federal level, we as New Mexicans have an opportunity to shut this kind of hate speech down," read the petition. "There’s no room for “casual misogyny” in our state. We respect women, we respect people of color, we respect our gay brothers and sisters and the trans community. We respect our indigenous community and our environment."

Progress Now Spokesperson Lucas Herndon, a Las Cruces resident, said he received a message Monday night from a friend in Carlsbad about Doporto's conduct. He said he passed it on to his colleagues in Albuquerque who were offended as well. He said of the people who had signed the petition by Tuesday evening, more than 1,000 were first time signers who were incited to participate by this specific incident.

Herndon said the organization expected Doporto to delete the post or block his Facebook page, and that the petition at least could serve to keep his actions in the public eye.

"We all agreed it was pretty egregious," he said. "We had all seen thousands of women out marching on Saturday. We were all out there. We wanted to hold him accountable."

The organization analyzed past posts on Doporto's page, Herndon said, and found what he called "a pattern" of misogyny. The page featured several other quotes from Trump and other statements disparaging to women and minorities, Herndon said.

"It's misogyny. There's no other word for it," he said. "It down plays the role women play in our modern society. I found it offensive and the goodhearted people of New Mexico found it offensive too. I don't think people in his district want to be represented by a clown who can't draw a line between his professional and personal life."

Doporto could not be immediately reached for a response to the allegations.

Doporto's comments were also included on the Huffington Post's list of the most sexist remarks to the women's marches.

The councilman's Facebook page was set to private Tuesday after the public outcry escalated.

Chair of the Eddy County Board of Commissioners Stella Davis warned that although Doporto made his comments on a private social media account, as a public official he needs to do better.

"I think we all as public officials, people still see us as elected officials 24/7," she said. "You can say: 'It's my personal page.'

But at the end of the day, people hold us up to a higher standard. At the end of the day, Mr. Doporto has to deal with that. We are public officials, and that's the way it is.

"We have to be very mindful. You can lose the public's trust."
According to a statement from the Carlsbad City Attorney's Office neither the mayor or city council can remove Doporto from his position under state law. State law also does not allow for a city councilman to be recalled by voters, the statement said.

An elected official of a municipality can be removed office for "malfeasance in office," but only after a district court hearing, the statement said.

The Carlsbad City Council meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the council chambers of the Municipal Annex Building, 114 S. Halagueno Street.

Managing Editor Jessica Onsurez can be reached at 575-628-5531.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.


http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/new...ents/96991730/