On Juneteenth, Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes tweeted:
Just wondering when they are going to paint “Black Lives Matter” on Auburn Avenue, you know, in front of that building where they terminate black lives and white ones, too, almost every day of the week.
— Dusty Rhodes (@AuditorRhodes) June 19, 2020
One can infer this tweet was both in reference to the new Black Lives Matter street mural that was dedicated that day in front of Cincinnati City Hall, as well as the Planned Parenthood health center in Mt. Auburn — which provides everything from women’s health care to STD testing, birth control, pregnancy planning services, adoption and abortion referrals (they don’t actually do abortions in the health center), men’s health care, LGBTQ services and assorted other general health care.
Rhodes — an endorsed Democrat — isn’t really known for holding back on his twitter or being completely PC, so nothing he says or tweets is super shocking.
Except this, which drew enough ire from people and ran against enough Democratic policies — particularly those that support women, BIPOC and humans who care about reproductive rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and working to end systemic racism — that it warranted a reply from Hamilton County Democratic Party Chair Gwen McFarlin, who issued this statement:
In a tweet on Friday, Dusty Rhodes, Hamilton County Auditor and an endorsed Democrat, posted a racist and sexist tweet. I condemn this comment which I would not expect from an elected official let alone a Democratically endorsed elected official. His offensive comments are aimed at black, brown and other marginalized groups as well as women. The Democratic Party supports the Black Lives Matter movement and women’s reproductive rights.
As the Chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, I will not condone his behavior any longer. A number of Democrats have raised concerns about Dusty Rhodes’ comments. I will bring options to the Hamilton County Democratic Party officers including a resolution launching a formal censure process and a resolution declaring that we will not support his reelection and plan to endorse a Democrat for Auditor who shares our values.
Rhodes issued his own reply to her reply, saying he found McFarlin’s statement offensive.
I find the characterization of my views as “sexist and racist” by the Hamilton County Democratic Chair in a tweet today deeply offensive.
— Dusty Rhodes (@AuditorRhodes) June 22, 2020
He continued, tweeting: “The criticism is an obvious reaction to my views on abortion, which should not be a surprise to anyone. The party knew this when they asked me to run for County Auditor in 1990. They knew it when I was endorsed in 2018. They knew it when I won with almost 2/3rds of the vote.
“Abortion impacts African Americans at a higher rate than any other population group. I thank all who are retweeting my comment. I stand by it and reject the uninformed criticism. It is neither a ‘racist’ nor ‘sexist’ tweet.”
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This article appears in The Summer Guide.