WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- As people across the country went out to march in support of women's rights over the weekend, West Chester Township fiscal officer Bruce Jones took to Facebook to share his thoughts.
"They're jaded, broken people with varying degrees of mental illness," Jones wrote on his personal Facebook page.
The post caused enough controversy that Jones' employer, Coldwell Banker West Shell, chose to "disassociate" from him.
We have learned more about this situation & have decided to disassociate with Mr. Jones. We respect all people & don't condone hate speech.
— Coldwell Banker WS (@CBWSTWEET) January 24, 2017
Nicole Klungle was one of the people who responded to the post.
"I absolutely do not want to censor anyone," Klungle said. "I just want there to be a lot of underlying respect for other people."
Jones said people missed the point and that he wants equality, too.
"I want what's best for women, but I also want a little bit more understanding from some of the feminist extremists that men don't have it all made either," Jones said.
In his posts, Jones specifically mentioned "the sacrifices of servicemen who died so you could have affirmative action." That point hit close to home for West Chester resident Erica McCain, who is both a Marine and a woman.
"They were quite offensive, especially to me being a Marine," McCain said. "I just want to point out that we have almost a million women in the United States who have served during conflicts and wars, and that's a significant number."
McCain said she respects Jones' right to freedom of speech, but hoped an elected official would have a "more professional response on social media than what was demonstrated."
A spokesperson at West Chester's administrative office said she would be unable to comment.
The Butler County Democratic Party released a statement Tuesday saying that the township trustees "should let Mr. Jones know what his comments are not acceptable behavior as an elected official representing the West Chester community."
Jones said he "didn't do anything wrong."
"I do understand there are some people who disagree with me," he said. "They have a good heart but they're being led down the wrong path by people doing this for political motives."
In an additional statement Wednesday morning, the Butler County Democratic Party condemned Jones' comments at Tuesday' night's township meeting:
“Instead of apologizing and recognizing that he made offensive, disparaging and disgusting comments about women in his community, Jones chose to dig in and repeat some of his offensive remarks, dividing his constituency and completely disregarding anyone who disagrees with him as ‘haters.’ Shame on Bruce Jones and shame on Trustees Welch and Lang for not speaking out against him,” said Butler Democratic Party Chair Jocelyn Bucaro.
