Updated on February 12, 2019.
Mohamed Jafar vowed to stay in the race for Burlington’s South District city council seat despite a VTDigger.org story published Monday that described a series of sexist tweets the candidate had sent as recently as January 2016.
“I sincerely apologize to those I’ve offended. I sincerely apologize to those who were really surprised” by the tweets, Jafar, 22, told Seven Days. “My personality and character have evolved since then.”
The messages of 140 characters or fewer included misogynistic statements and allusions to violence. “Somebody hold my earrings, I’m about to beat this bitches ass,” Jafar wrote on Twitter in 2015, when he was a sophomore at Colby-Sawyer College.
“I’ve never hit a women before but I’m bout to make you my first…the closest thing to a women I’ve ever hit is my sister,” he tweeted in 2013.
“I don’t understand why they make watches for women when there’s a perfectly fine clock on the stove,” Jafar wrote the same year.
In another post, he wrote, “Stop tweeting about how you get treated. Go find someone who will listen or go lesbian. We don’t mind. It’s better than your bitching #women.”
Though he was contrite on Monday, Jafar, a Progressive running on a platform of equality and civic engagement, said that there’s “no chance” he’d withdraw from the race as a result of the revelations.
He said he had learned his lesson and, as a result, would push to include mandatory classes on gender equality and “the patriarchy” for high school students. “I invite folks to say, ‘Hey, you were wrong.’ Dialogue is the only way we’re going to solve these issues,” he said.
“I do think I’ll lose some supporters,” Jafar acknowledged.
In the race for the South End seat, Jafar faces incumbent Joan Shannon, a Democrat, and Paco DeFrancis, an independent.
Shannon said on Tuesday that Jafar’s conduct was grounds for him to drop out of the race. She called the tweets “completely abhorrent and disqualifying to serve as a city councilor.”
“They were not just sexist; they were promoting violence against women,” Shannon said.
More important than her stance on the matter, Shannon noted, is the reaction from Progressive leadership — especially the women within the party. “They have to decide whether they’re going hold their own accountable and what that means,” she said.
DeFrancis, who has a history of posting inflammatory messages on social media, said he was troubled by the tweets but would prefer to focus on politics.
“We’re here to discuss policy. I want to discuss zoning, land use regulation, municipal spending rather than tweets,” he said.
DeFrancis wouldn’t weigh in on whether Jafar should drop out of the race.
“That’s totally up to his supporters” — and the candidate himself, DeFrancis said.
Progs contacted by Seven Days on Monday appeared to be standing by their man. Councilor Ali Dieng (D/P-Ward 7) said he was initially disappointed by the tweets but would continue to support the candidate. Dieng has campaigned for and spoken publicly in support of Jafar. Both men are New Americans; Jafar is Somali and was born in a Kenyan refugee camp. He was 7 when his family immigrated to the U.S.
Dieng noted that Jafar was young when he tapped out the offensive tweets. “Where the mistake was made, it was based on someone who came from a place where women are considered lower class — in Africa, especially in Muslim countries,” Dieng said. “His life has definitely shown he has changed.”
Mellisa Cain, Jafar’s campaign manager and a Burlington Progressive Party steering committee member, said she remained committed to the candidate. “I 100% support Mohamed,” she wrote in an email to Seven Days.
She said she considered the tweets “bravado” from a male teen and “stupid, tasteless jokes that are clearly based on pop culture references.”
“That doesn’t excuse them in any way, but looking deeper is helpful to understand the broader context of them,” Cain added. “The Mohamed I know is one of the kindest, sweetest and generous men I know.”
Political advocacy organization Rights & Democracy endorsed Jafar last month. It’s unclear whether the group will withdraw its support, according to communications director Shay Totten. “That’s up to the members,” he wrote in a message to Seven Days.
Totten said he had reviewed Jafar’s social media postings before the organization offered its endorsement, but the search only went back three years.
Correction, February 12, 2019: A previous version of this story identified the wrong year the most recent tweet was posted.
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Easy there on rewriting history Mark Montalban.Culcleasure went to prison twice for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.Culcleasure, in his first (of two!) felony drug trials was shown to haved moved to Vermont expressly to sell crack for Boo Hickman who he also sold for in NYC prior to moving to Vermont.Culcleasure violently assaulted a witness in the case against him on the street.Culcleasure went to prison, didnt learn, and went right back to dealing, and went to prison again.And best of all, when given the opportunity to own and atone for his crimes, the lives he ruined with drugs, and his violence, he blamed all the white kids who kept asking him for drugs.Not quite the same thing as misogynistic tweets.
“How is it acceptable to call someone a piece of crap,”
I’m not endorsing the choice of language, but didn’t Mr. Jafar make himself a public figure by declaring himself a candidate for public office? I mean, many, many people on both sides of the spectrum have used worse language on this site to describe the Mayor, city councilors, Don Sinex, the Governor, any and all Republicans, etc., etc., etc., and it’s considerable acceptable because they’re public figures.
How is it acceptable to call someone a piece of crap, and how does this pass the Seven Days guidelines? By allowing this to stand Seven Days is essentially calling Mr. Jafar a piece of crap too.
This is not a defense of Mr. Jafar. His actions were terrible and crappy. But Seven Days is irresponsible and this makes Pamela Polston, Paula Routly, and Katie Jickling’s actions crappy too.
” Fact is, it feels like another hatchet job by the pro-Miro forces within the Democratic party.”
Really? A Prog candidate for city council is found to have recently published tweets about killing bitches, and it’s all just a dirty trick by the Democratic Mayor? Really?
Emulating Trump on this is not a good look.
He is a young muslim man. Their religion/culture does not treat women with respect. Our culture has worked very hard to create an environment where women are equal. He does not believe that. His violent tendencies toward women are completely unacceptable. These tweets are fresh and he is young, way too young to lead a city. Maybe when he’s 50 and he’s established a track record of respecting women, he’d get a pass on this. Not now, no chance. If you’re a woman and are behind this guy, you need to be evaluated. Would you want your daughter dating this guy? No chance.
There are plenty of white adult men working at the state and local level throughout Vermont who have been given a bye while using much more intensive language and actual physical interactions with women, over the last several years. Fact is, it feels like another hatchet job by the pro-Miro forces within the Democratic party. Its bait sent out about another black candidate, just like last year when we found out details about mayoral hopeful Infinite Culcleasure’s past around substance abuse and possession. By the way, he also had tweets addressing the issue of violent language toward women and his concern in ridding it last year, before he entered the race.
If anyone other then Ali Dieng tried to explain this misogyny away by blaming it on the Koran inspired Islamic African culture they would be labeled as racists.
The religion of peace?
If Burlitonians are shameful of some of these same tweets from the President of the US then why would any of them think it is OK from a local candidate? I say give the man a chance to prove himself outside of the political arena then come back with what you have in a couple years and show the people what you have done to change yourself and the community.
“. . . change is possible. . . I stand by Mohamed for South District, and I ask that you consider doing so, too.”
I certainly hope and believe that people can change for the better. But it’s only been a couple of years since he published those shocking views.
So I must ask, when all of the politicians who wore blackface 30 years ago, or all of the men who’ve been accused of sexual misconduct by women 30 years ago, say, “I’m sorry, I did wrong, but that was a long time ago, I’ve evolved, that isn’t who I am now,” do you accept their apologies, believe in their change, and “stand by” them, too?
I don’t know, but it sure seems like you’re asking the voters to accept a double standard here.
As it turns out, the voters don’t have to take a chance and hope for the best on whether Mr. Jafar has really, truly changed or not. They can just vote for the capable, accomplished WOMAN who’s running for this very same office. I don’t think she’s ever said she was going to kill any bitches.
I hope that 10 or 20 years from now Mr. Jafar will have put this situation far enough behind him that he will be electable. And maybe by then he’ll also have gained the experience that would qualify him to be a Burlington City Councilor anyway.