OCALA, Fla. – A Florida school board campaign took an ugly turn when an incumbent attacked his opponent’s supposed religion, labeling her “Hindu Jane.”
The Ocala Star Banner reports:
School Board Chairman Bobby James’ campaign has created a website called HinduJane.com that he said is designed to challenge the truthfulness of his opponent, businesswoman Jane Moerlie.
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Moerlie, who is a candidate for the Marion County School Board District 3, disputes James’ accusations, professing to be a “conservative Christian.”
She claims her husband was Hindu and when a member of her campaign created her Facebook page, the person listed her religion as Hindu.
“Maybe it (the nickname) was not targeting her race, but at least her national origin,” says Jud Spence, according to the paper.
“I found it offensive. It was about her national origin, but racism can be painted with a broad brush.”
James, who is black, disputes any racial undertones.
“That’s not me,” he says. “The issue is that she just isn’t truthful. If it is perceived as a racist website, that was not our intention.”
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The attack site also questioned Moerlie’s name, claiming she falsified it on the ballot.
Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox disputes that charge.
After outrage mounted over the site, James wiped it clean.
He ordered the website “challenging the trustworthiness of his opponent in Tuesday’s election be taken down, saying it didn’t reflect his personal values and that critics had spun the intended message out if its original context,” the paper reports.
“It’s down, and, if it offended some people, I apologize,” James says.
“It morphed into something it was not intended to be. People know me, and that’s not me.”
On Moerlie’s website, she lists several beliefs, including:
* School Choice
* American Exceptionalism
* Constitutional Heritage
* Parental Involvement
Additionally, she vows to “challenge an education system that is mediocre, bureaucratic” and has “corporate cronyism.”
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