Former New Britain Mayor Offers Apology After Facebook Comment

NEW BRITAIN, CT — Former New Britain mayor Tim Stewart apologized in a statement on Facebook after he referred to several female congresswomen as "bitches in heat" during the State of the Union address.

Stewart was placed on leave from his job as president of the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce. Stewart is the father of current New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart who ran for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary last year.

"To all those asking; I'm embarrassed and mortified," she tweeted.

"Mayor Erin Stewart has asked her father, Tim Stewart, to step down from both the New Britain School Building Committee and the Mattabassett District Commission," Stewart's office said in a statement. "The Mayor has accepted his resignations, effectively immediately."

Stewart said he would be terminating his social media accounts and would seek help.

"My comment was wrong and in poor taste in response to a particular time during the speech that I took offense to," he said. "This in no way excuses my behavior and I am deeply sorry to not only the women in my life but to all women for the remark."

Gennaro Bizzaro, the Chairman of the board for the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that he couldn't be more disappointed in Stewart's post. He also said he will call a special meeting of the board to consider Stewart's future with the chamber, according to the New Britain Herald.

Several Democrats called on Stewart to resign from his chamber post.

“This is not the first time former New Britain Mayor Tim Stewart has made inappropriate comments, and an apology ‘if they are offended’ isn’t enough anymore," said Nancy Wyman, chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party. "It’s time for Tim Stewart to be held accountable by the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce and the businesses they represent, by the state’s Republican leaders who are so quick to jump on others, by Gennaro Bizzaro, who was appointed city counsel by Tim Stewart and is now seeking a state senate seat, to name a few."

Stewart served as mayor from 2003 to 2011.

It isn't the first time Stewart has landed in hot water over a Facebook post. He apologized in 2017 after he said, "Unfortunately, the inmates continue to run the asylum," in reference to blight in the North Oak section of the city, according to the Hartford Courant.

President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday night that there are more women serving in Congress than at any other time and that it comes 100 years after women gained the constitutional right to vote.

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