Central Minnesota city council candidate withdraws from race, cites online bullying

[TexasTowelie]

BRAINERD, Minn. — Brainerd City Council candidate Christopher Mathison announced Friday, Oct. 5, his decision to pull out of the city council race.

Mathison, who was running against council member Sue Hilgart for the city council at-large seat, cited in an email Friday morning defamation, bullying and threats made toward him as his reasons for leaving the race.

-snip-

In follow-up emails, Mathison said the negative remarks and threats came from Facebook posts Friday morning. He said he blocked some of the people's accounts posting the comments but believed some of the posts had since been taken down. He did not identify who the posts came from.

Mathison said many of the comments published on Facebook referred to his mental health and belittled him and his family. It began Friday morning, when photos of Mathison's entry in the Brainerd Dispatch 2018 Voter's Guide were shared on multiple Facebook pages, according to Mathison. He said the photos were accompanied by comments critical of his use of social services for his disability, bipolar disorder.

Read more: http://www.wctrib.com/news/government-and-politics/4509886-central-minnesota-city-council-candidate-withdraws-race-cites

[Sherman A1]

1. That is truly sad

that someone needs to withdraw from a election due to bullying. I hope that those threats are investigated.

[WhiteTara]

3. And great that we don't have a mentally ill man making

decisions for all of society?

[rampartc]

2. i'm afraid this might be the "new normal."

if the threats come from supporters of his opponent, they must be stopped.

[progree]

4. "The city of Brainerd confirmed Friday Mathison's name will still be on the ballot, as early voting

started in September"

Ugh. So he still might be continued to be harassed anyway.

He got direct physical threats too, threatening to beat him up after the candidates forum on Oct 12. And that he was faking his disability and draining Social Security.

[progree]

5. Just as I expected - the opponent appears to be a hard right-winger

I found Sue Hilgart's campaign page:
  https://www.facebook.com/SueHilgartBrainerdCityCouncil/

And her personal facebook page:
  https://www.facebook.com/sue.hilgart

I didn't see much on her campaign page that exposes any political bias one way or another (I only spent like 2-3 minutes). As for her Facebook page, she keeps the Timeline clean for the past few years, just photos of herself and family. But I scrolled down to 2011 and found this:

  Sue Hilgart likes BreakPoint: Which Ocracy Do You Prefer? 02-23-2011. February 23, 2011

As for the Breakpoint article --

Breakpoint, A Christian Perspective on Today's News and Culture

excerpts:

Breakpoint: Which Ocracy Do You Prefer, 2/23/11

((speaking of the protests against Governor Walker's anti-public union actions in Wisconsin in 2011 -Progree)) What I find particularly galling is that the protestors occupying the state house are claiming the mantle of democracy, that they are protecting the "democratic process." Not so. They are destroying the democratic process: impeding state legislators, elected by the people, from doing their jobs.

No, what's happening in Madison and elsewhere, you see, is "mob-ocracy." And it's spreading! Now Democratic senators in Indiana have abandoned their post, fleeing the state to shut down a vote involving unions there. And in Ohio, union protesters are trying to flood the state house as legislators consider a bill that would limit collective bargaining for state employees.

Mob-ocracy was what the ancient Athenians sought to avoid, in part because they knew that if the mob really had control of the government's purse strings, government would collapse.

Sound at all familiar? States are trying to cut budgets to avoid bankruptcy, and the public sector unions have unleashed the mobs.

Well back to her personal Facebook page, her Likes page confirms her political orientation. Jason Lewis, Benedict Trump, many many more sickening characters

[progree]

6. Mathison definitely doesn't like Trump

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156163816498938&set=a.10150335366523938&type=3
This, and his responses to a number of the comments on it tells me he is definitely not a RWer

I found his personal Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/gogogadgetchrys/

His Oct 5 posting saying he is dropping out. And thread. https://www.facebook.com/gogogadgetchrys/posts/10156988437568938